Libya rape accuser deported and beaten

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BENGHAZI, Libya, June 3 (UPI) -- Eman al-Obeidy, the Libyan woman who accused government supporters of gang-rape, was forcibly deported to Benghazi and apparently beaten, a witness said Friday.

Al-Obeidy, who said she was raped by dictator Moammar Gadhafi's men March 26, fled to Tunisia and later went to Qatar.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees told CNN the woman and her parents were seized from their hotel room in Doha by Qatari security Thursday and flown to Benghazi. The gulf state supports the rebel National Transitional Council in Libya.

"Ms. al-Obeidy has been recognized as a refugee by UNHCR. UNHCR was present at the hotel where Ms. al-Obeidy was staying in Qatar, ready to accompany her to the airport to travel to an emergency transit center in Romania. She was prevented from leaving for this flight in the early hours of Thursday morning," the agency said Friday.

Nasha Dawaji, a Libyan-American rebel activist, said she saw al-Obeidy with a black eye, bruises on her legs and scratches on her arms in Benghazi.

Al-Obeidy also said the Qataris seized her money, laptop and cellphone. Qatar officials had no comment Friday.