FT journalist Charles Clover, center top, tries to stop Libya Ministry of Information official from grabbing Iman Al-Obeidi, who alleges she was raped.Jerome Delay/The Associated Press
The horrific case of Iman Al-Obeidi personalizes the brutality of Moammar Gadhafi's dying regime. Her account of being kidnapped and raped by militia troops working for Colonel Gadhafi, and her subsequent abuse by the state apparatus, illustrates for the world how this despot's security apparatus tries to terrorize its own people.
And the government's clumsy attempts to smear Ms. Al-Obeidi's reputation, by dismissing her as mentally ill, a prostitute and a thief, and then criminally charging her for daring to speak out about the "boys" who attacked her, show the lengths to which the regime will go to silence critics.
In spite of the involvement of coalition troops in enforcing a no-fly zone in Libya and protecting civilians, there remains a certain lingering ambivalence about Col. Gadhafi himself. The leader is sometimes viewed as a source of bemusement for his eccentric streak -- his outlandish clothing, his philosophical musings, his tents and female Ukrainian nurses.
But his willingness to use violence is also fundamental to his longevity. The case of Ms. Al-Obeidi is assuredly the "tip of the iceberg" - as one Libyan opposition leader put it.
It is difficult for any woman to report an incident of sexual assault, let alone one allegedly committed by authorities in an Arab country. Courage, as well as desperation, may have been behind Ms. Al-Obeidi's decision to burst into a government-run hotel in Tripoli to share her disturbing tale with the foreign journalists staying there. She alleged government troops had detained her at a checkpoint, tied her up, abused her and then led her away to be gang-raped. "Look what Gadhafi's men have done to me," she screamed.
With television cameras rolling, she was tackled by waitresses, security guards and government minders, who closed in on her and dragged her away in an unmarked car. Far from being a prostitute, a slur invented by state officials, Ms. Al-Obeidi is a lawyer.
While her story cannot be confirmed, it is consistent with long-standing reports of human rights abuses in Libya, and her plight is as deserving of international attention as that of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, an Iranian woman who at one point faced death by stoning.
Ms. Al-Obeidi should be set free, her case properly investigated, and all charges against her immediately dropped.