CNN--Libya rape victim deported from Qatar
CNN reporting: Alleged Libyan rape victim deported from Qatar back to Libya
(CNN) -- The Libyan woman whose alleged rape by security forces received worldwide attention has been forcibly deported from Qatar back to Benghazi in Libya.
Eman al-Obeidy had been awaiting resettlement as a refugee, and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees had prepared papers for her departure from Qatar to begin a new life. But Qatari authorities took her and her parents from a hotel in the capital, Doha, and forced them onto a military plane that left Qatar early Thursday.
A UNHCR official told CNN that his agency had made repeated requests to the Qatari authorities not to deport al-Obeidy, and that unnamed third parties had also made appeals to Qatar.
Eventually, the plane left Doha, arriving in Benghazi, which is held by Libyan rebels, a few hours later. Her whereabouts after her arrival were unknown.
CNN later spoke by phone with al-Obeidy from Benghazi, where she had gone into hiding. She said she had been beaten by the Qataris, handcuffed and put on a plane. She said everything was taken from her and her parents, including cell phones, her laptop, and some money she had.
Hours before her forcible deportation Obeidy told CNN that armed guards had been posted outside her room preventing the UNHCR representative from assisting her.
Human Rights Watch says such deportations are illegal under international law.
political, hot-button issues, the kind you can get into a good debate about. For a long time, QL has been (IMHO) rather bland and I lost interest in coming here because all I would see would be inane postings about mindless drivel.
If the topics stay heated and interesting, I'll stick around and chime in. Otherwise, I'd rather spend my time perusing other sites that engage me more.
ummjake has been online the past few days. you just saw now only!!!
Welcome after sucH A LOOOOOOOOOONG TIME
Now The Peninsula has run a story saying she simply overstayed her tourist visa, she wasn't actually expelled and deported.
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/154827-libyan-woman-not-deported-says-rebel.html
Do the people who write this baloney ever actually bother to read it, to see how ridiculous it sounds? Apparently not...
If she goes to the USA, I am sure she will be on Oprah soon.
I read that she has been moved to Malta. Much better than Doha, so I guess in the end it has worked out for her.
History always repeats itself :o)
We should be seeing a lot more of her on CNN, Fox, BBC etc.
Ah..politics. The usual then. Yawn.
What is so special about her?
She was a beacon used to focus the general public's anger at a regime we want removed and to garner the same public's support for the actions to be taken.
Look back in history - the same ploy has been used again and again and will no doubt be used again.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/7596363.html
Again I ask, what is so special about her that warrants all this?
violated the laws of Qatar somehow, the government would have immediately issued a statement to that effect?
Nobody would blame them for such action -- although I think one could make a strong argument that even if she HAD violated local laws somehow, the fact that the UN was in the process of moving her to another country should have been taken into consideration and simply been moved along a little more quickly (rather than their forcibly sending her back to the country where she was allegedly raped and abused).
As it stands now, because Qatar won't talk, people are left to speculate, and they fall into two camps: those who earnestly believe that Qatar would never maliciously deport a refugee (so she must have done something to deserve it), and those who interpret Qatar's silence on the matter as indication that they had no valid reason for her expulsion, and see it as additional evidence of the repressive, misogynist attitudes prevalent in this region.
VERY classy Cabbage. When you run out of valid arguments, resort to name-calling.
Still doesn't change the fact that Al-Jazeera does NOT regularly report stories that are critical of Qatar.
ummjake I was just pointing out the probability of her having violated the laws of the land which got her deported.
If you think that you are a fool.
I haven't heard/seen any response from the government that says that.
In addition, most online news stories I've read report that the UNHCR had already arranged for her to be moved to Romania (Qatar was simply a stopping off point once she got out of Libya), and that the UN's reps were refused access to Eman by Qatari authorities.
If there IS a valid explanation for her expulsion and forced return to the war zone from which she escaped, I think the world is all ears.
If not -- and that's kind of what it seems like since Qatar's not talking -- then Qatar has set itself back at least a decade in terms of its rep as a progressive, developed country.
if a refugee violates the law of the land that he has taken refuge, shouldnt the refugee be deported? Isnt this what the same crowd has been asking about the asylum seekers in their countries?
I did Cabbage. Al Jazeera does not report critically on Qatar, and you're the only person I've ever come across that seriously contends it does.
english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/.../201132617491827374.html
I hope this link works for you - if not I am sure you are clever enough to do your own search.
Oh don't get me wrong, Pilgram. I don't think they will. I just think they should.
morals and politics ?
Yoyu are forgetting rendition flights, Gitmo, wire tapping, echelon ..
Need I go on ?
it wont rain unless if the sky is cloudy .... there is something fishy about eman's activity in doha or else none of this would happen! anyway my God blss her and her family.
ROFLING. In your own words Frenchie. Keep drinking that Kool Aid.
They talk about it a lot. This is a chance to show they mean it.
Since when has Qatar given a damn about "moral obligation" Frenchieman.
Genesis--Legally, Qatar is not obliged, but I think it has a moral obligation to explain why it withdrew its hospitality. If the US, which also does not sign up for many of these agreements, behaved in this way, I suspect you would be amongst the first expecting an explanation. :-)
Qatar is also obsessed with what the world thinks of it (or at least a powerful element within Qatar is), so it would also be smart to explain its decision, or leak an explanation, for the sake of PR. I just don't think it will play well when I pick up the next issue of the Economist which features a full-page ad espousing the enlightened values of Education City next to an article about Eman al-Obeidy. And I am assuming there is much more to it than this woman's side of this story.
again on this one! Isolated case. Qatar don't need to explain! Less talk, less complications!
eat your heart out frenchieman :)
You should've known already that Qatar DO NOT respond to criticism in concern to any of its policies nor does it have any mutual agreement with UNHCR , adhere to international refugee instruments or has national asylum laws and procedures
Qatar Pledged alliance to Libyan transition council & the Libyan people not to the " so called' human right committees
While i feel pity for Eman's ordeal, i don't think Qatar is obliged to clarify in any position it takes in its own territory
The link is dead. Hope about some links to hard-hitting Al Jazeera stories that are critical of Qatar? Good luck finding any. :-)
Hope this helps -
www.guardian.co.uk/.../2010/.../al-jazeera-qatar-us-embassy -
Keep drinking the kool-aid, Cabbage. And let me know when you find more than one critical story Al Jazeera does on Qatar.
Yet again you say she lied.
Tell us here and now why you know she lied about being raped.
Don't come in this forum and come out with spurious stories!
ROFL - you ‘believe’ CNN and BBC - knee jerk news anybody?
Al Jazeera will comment on this when they have the FACTS - not gossip or supposition.
It may work out that the BBC and CNN are right – she did lie but then again- they may come back and say she is ‘allegedly’ a rape victim of the Gadhafi regime that Qatar did not want to help;-/
I go with – she was raped and tortured and for some reason Qatar was duped into handing her over.
wow you poeple talk here like u meet here specailly u cabbage u said i set this up go and ask libyans in doha before u accuse me once agian she said gaddafi shouldnt step down wow more than 15000 poeple died back home and she still support him i donot understand why poeple care only about her what about the other victims !!!!
I feel sorry for her, nd m scared that she may be in trouble back home.... Hope she is safe....
PS Cabbage. This is a lead story for CNN, BBC, and every other major news network, but Al Jazeera is not even covering it. hmmm . . . go figure.
Sure Cabbage, I see hard-hitting investigative journalism about Qatar on Al Jazeera all the time. ROFL.
I agree they are for real and do a great job cover other countries in the ME, and their analysis of the US is fairly good, too. But they do not cover Qatar critically on a regular basis, as anyone reasonably high up in the organization readily admits.
Cabbage if you beg to differ check their reporting on this topic and you will realize how softly and sweetly they have mentioned the topic in their article on this story and that too much later after the news first got out on CNN
I bet to differ on that point - Al Jazeera DOES report stuff on Qatar.
I think they are a credible respected news agency.
Are they popular? No.
Hmm, I somehow doubt that she is the only one this happened to...so what is so special about her to be evacuated, getting refuge and then being sent away again?
She was allegedly abused by Gaddafi's troops and is now under the protection of the the rebels - with the promise of refuge in a third country. So, what is the real problem ?
Al Jazeera is a fantastic news organization as long as you are not using it to learn about its home country of Qatar.
Very interesting how you never find a word or mention about the whole story in the local newspapers or the newspapers of the neighbouring countries and we have to depend on other news channels for the actual coverage of this story
You have a lot more faith than I have dpatrick. I hope they have the sense to explain it.
Everything happens for a reason. The Qatari government is not stupid. There must be a very good reason why this lady was suddently sent back to Benghazi.
I agree. There must be more to it. Someone from the government should issue a release otherwise Qatar look very very very bad.
Elaph--Great attitude.
Somehow there seems much much more to the story than what the media is broadcasting. Specially given Qatar's stance against Ghaddafi. I'm sure with time more facts will be revealed and the case will be much clearer then.
She must've had a big crime for the Qatar police to act that way. Even though the police here are unpredictable, I don't think they did this for no reason, they even used a private jet just to deport her, that's big deal! That woman must be lying, the witness must be Libyan as well. I'm with Qatar on this.
CNN) -- A witness who met with Eman al-Obeidy after she was forced back to Libya from Qatar said the alleged rape victim appeared battered and bruised.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/06/03/libya.rape.case/
our country our rules .
Qatar owes the world what?
This is criminal. A violation of international law, as the article states, not to mention poor etiquette to offer hospitality and refuge and then suddenly withdraw it.
At the very least Qatar owes the world an explanation for its actions.
So you are saying - this woman and her family lied about her alleged rape and then she came to Qatar to be given refuge?
How come the world press (most of them cynics) believe her - so do UN officials?
Why did Qatar allow her to come here in the first place and then ' all of a sudden' deport her?
What where her 'suspicious activities'?
Why would she do that in a country that allegedly has rescued her and Qatar was one of the first Arab Nations to support the West in the stance against Gadhafi?
YOU are making this up.
Well funny and stange things can happen out here and you can just watch and do nothing about it
by the way i know eman and the reason why she been deported she is doing some suspicious activeness in Doha she is supporting decorator gaddafi which is socking for the Libyans in Qatar