Libyan Rape Victim Iman Al-Obeidi Is Deported, Heads To U.S.

Last month Iman al-Obeidi, who told the world she was raped by Gadhafi’s troops, made a harrowing escape from Libya to Tunisia. Now she’s on the move again after being deported to Libya.

CNN reports that Obeidi had moved from Tunisia to Qatar and was awaiting resettlement as a refugee when she was suddenly deported on Thursday and sent back to Benghazi. It appears that she was beaten before she left Qatar, and Najah Dawaji, a Libyan freedom activist based in the U.S., says says she had a black eye, bruises on her legs, and scratches on her arms.

The Qatar-based newspaper The Peninsula denies that Obeidi was beaten or deported, but she says officials in Libya’s opposition Transitional National Council pushed the Qataris to kick her out. The U.S. said it was “disappointed” by this turn of events, which it called a “breach of humanitarian norms.”

Thankfully American and European officials have stepped in and helped Obeidi out of the country once again. Yesterday a State Department source said that she had boarded plane to Malta with her father, and was heading to a processing center in Romania.

Obeidi has said in several interviews that she would like to live in the U.S., and the State Department source says they’re “prepared to provide whatever help and support Eman may need.” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has reportedly, “been deeply interested in the case and has followed it throughout.” Her sister, Marwa al-Obeidi, said Clinton arranged for a private plane to take Obeidi and her father to the U.S. via Malta and Austria. It may take them weeks to be cleared to enter the country, but for the time being it seems she’s out of immediate danger.

Alleged Libya Rape Victim Arrives At Refugee Facility In Romania [CNN]
Libyan Woman Not Deported, Says Rebel [The Peninsula via The Atlantic]
Libyan Woman Who Claimed Rape By Gadhafi Troops Traveling To US [AP]