Eman Al-Obeidy, alleged rape victim, flees Libya
Libyan-American women demonstrate to show solidarity with Eman Al-Obaidi in Lafayette Park in front of the White House March 30, 2011, in Washington, DC.
A Libyan woman who grabbed the international spotlight in March for her allegations of rape against Muammar Gaddafi's forces has fled the country.
Eman Al-Obeidy left Tripoli Thursday, cloaked in a head cover, and crossed into Tunisia with the help of a military officer and his family, CNN reports.
Their car was stopped many times by security officers, and the military officer used his permit to get through the checkpoints. She passed into Tunisia using refugee documents.
Al-Obeidy attracted global attention after bursting into the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli on March 26 and telling international journalists that she had been raped and beaten for two days by 15 men. Journalists pounded her with questions as she was literally dragged from the hotel by Gaddafi's forces.
The young woman's public outrage at her perpetrators challenged both Gaddafi's rule and social stigmas in Libya against discussing sexual violence.
European diplomats are now giving her refuge in Tunis.
Her parents are reportedly thrilled that she managed to escape Libya, where she feared her safety.
"I am extremely delighted, and I will be looking forward to more information about how she was able to escape," her father Atiq Al-Obeidy told CNN.
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