You may have seen the extremely disturbing video footage released over the weekend from Libya: Eman al-Obeidi forcibly dragged away by security officials Saturday after bursting into a Tripoli hotel where international journalists had gathered and saying she had been raped.
Eman al-Obeidi’s allegations are stomach-churning. The Libyan authorities must immediately launch an independent and impartial investigation and bring those responsible to justice if the allegations are well-founded.
It is troubling that Iman al-Obeidi was forcibly dragged away by Libyan security officials when she tried to speak to journalists. Libya says it has since released al-Obeidi.
The Libyan authorities have a long record of silencing those who dare speak out against human rights violations. It is all the more worrying that they did not hesitate to do this, using heavy-handed methods, despite the presence of the international media.