TRIPOLI, Libya, March 29 (UPI) -- A Libyan woman who accused members of Moammar Gadhafi's forces of raping her is being sued by her alleged attackers, a Libyan government spokesman says.
Journalists haven't been able to learn where Eman al-Obeidy is since she was forcibly removed from a Tripoli hotel after trying to approach journalists to relay her experience during the weekend, The New York Times reported Tuesday. A scuffle broke out between security personnel, hotel staff and foreign journalists. Al-Obeidy was apprehended by security forces for trying to tell journalist she was raped by Gadhafi's militia.
"[They] have filed a case," government spokesman Musa Ibrahim said. "The boys who she accused of rape are bringing a case because it is a very grave offense to accuse someone of a sexual crime."
Soon after the incident Saturday, Ibrahim described the woman as drunk and possibly unstable, but later said she was sober and sane. On Sunday, he called her a prostitute and a thief.
Ibrahim said the woman's case against the men was dropped because she wouldn't submit to a medical examination, but promised she would be given a chance to speak again to the media, the Times said.
The story of her treatment has been covered by news channels and Web sites, with critics of the Gadhafi regime saying she gives face to the strongman's brutal tactics, the newspaper said.
