High Representative Ashton Must Demand Release of Ms. Eman al-Obeidy

Chairwoman Hautala, together with Parliament Rapporteur on Libya, Mr Ana Gomes and Chair of Committee on Women’s Rights wrote to High Representative Ashton urging her to demand the release of Ms. Eman al-Obeidy, who entered the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli on 26 March, accusing pro-government militiamen of gang-raping and beating her. [:] 

 

Dear HR/VP Catherine Ashton,

 

We urge you to demand the immediate and verified release of Ms. Eman al-Obeidy, the woman who entered the Rixos Hotel where foreign journalists stay in Tripoli, on 26 March, accusing pro-government militiamen of gang-raping and beating her.

 

In spite of Libyan claims that Ms. al-Obeidy has been released, she has not been seen since she was brutally taken outside the hotel and driven away, after being intimidated by security and hotel staff trying to prevent her from talking to journalists. Foreign media workers who tried to interview her were beaten and one camera was smashed.
Ms. al-Obeidy reported that she had been arrested at a checkpoint in Tripoli because she was from the city of Benghazi, bastion of the insurgency against the Gaddafi’s rule, and had been raped by 15 men and tortured while detained for two days. Ms. al-Obeidy’s face was badly bruised.

Eman al-Obeidy must be immediately freed and her release must be verified by independent sources.

 

Best regards,

Ana Gomes, Standing Rapporteur on the EU-Libya Framework Agreement
Eva-Britt Svensson, Chair of the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee
Heidi Hautala, Chair of the Sub-Committee on Human Rights

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