2011 Libyan rape allegations

Last updated

The 2011 Libyan rape allegations were controversial allegations that Gaddafi's forces in Libya were committing mass rape during the 2011 Libyan civil war. Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo said "we have information that there was a policy to rape in Libya those who were against the government." [1] Libyan psychologist Seham Sergiwa said she distributed questionnaires in opposition-held areas and along the Libya–Tunisia border, and 259 women responded that they were raped. [1] Sergiwa told Amnesty International's specialist on Libya that she had lost contact with the 140 victims she interviewed and was unable to provide documentary evidence. [1] In March 2011, Iman al-Obeidi said she was gang-raped before Libyan security services dragged her away. [1] [2]

Contents

Investigations by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch [1] and Doctors Without Borders [2] did not find evidence that mass rapes had occurred. [1] Amnesty International's senior crisis response adviser said although no evidence was found, this did not prove that mass rape did not occur, but it also could not establish that it did, either. [1] Amnesty did find that, in many cases, rebels had made false claims about abuse by Gadaffi's soldiers. [1] UN investigator M. Cherif Bassiouni described the claims as "massive hysteria". [3]

2011 allegations

Allegations arose in 2011 that Viagra and other impotency drugs were being distributed by Gaddafi to sustain the rapes. [4] The charges were denied by Libyan diplomats and described as propaganda. [4] Libyan psychologist Seham Sergiwa reported a wide pattern of rapes by Libyan government soldiers during the 2011 conflict. [5] In June 2011, the International Criminal Court began an investigation into the rape allegations seeking to add the rapes to Gaddafi's list of war crimes charges. [6] [7]

United States secretary of state Hillary Clinton, stated that "rape, physical intimidation, sexual harassment, and even so-called 'virginity tests' have taken place in countries throughout the region." [8] Clinton also stated that "It is an affront to all people who are yearning to live in a society free from violence with respect for basic human rights. We urge all governments to conduct immediate, transparent investigations into these allegations, and to hold accountable those found responsible." [9]

In April 2011 NBC News reported that United States ambassador, Susan Rice, told a closed-door meeting of officials at the UN that the Libyan military is using rape as a weapon in the war with the rebels and some had been issued the anti-impotency drug. United States military and intelligence officials informed NBC News under condition of anonymity that there was no evidence for the allegations of systematic rape. [10]

Patrick Cockburn expressed concern that misleading reports of rapes by Libyan government forces were used to justify the NATO-led 2011 military intervention in Libya. [1] Amnesty International said many false reports that Libyan forces committed rape had been spread as disinformation by rebel forces, and that it could not find a "single victim of rape or a doctor who knew about somebody being raped". [1] In June 2011, a UN investigator did not find evidence of mass rapes, and branded the claims as "hysteria". [3]

Post-war

There's some information with Viagra. So, it's like a machete. It's new. Viagra is a tool of massive rape.

— Luis Moreno Ocampo, ICC Chief Prosecutor [11] [12]

After the civil war, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, said there was evidence that Gaddafi told soldiers to rape women who had spoken out against his government.[ citation needed ]

In 2014, the new Libyan government said that compensation should be paid for the victims of rape during the war. [13]

In 2016, there were reports that African women were being raped by the same Libyan rebels who overthrew Gadhafi. This is part of a larger picture of abuse of black Africans in Libya that is emerging in the wake of the rebel victory, born of allegations that Gadhafi often hired sub-Saharan Africans to fight for him. [14]

In 2019, leaked phone calls by Gaddafi government officials were claimed by The Libya Observer as evidence that Baghdadi Mahmudi, prime minister of Libya from 2006 to 2011, had coordinated systematic rapes. [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saif al-Islam Gaddafi</span> Son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi (born 1972)

Saif al-Islam Muammar al-Gaddafi is a Libyan political figure. He is the second son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his second wife Safia Farkash. He was a part of his father's inner circle, performing public relations and diplomatic roles on his behalf. He publicly turned down his father's offer of the country's second highest post and held no official government position. According to United States Department of State officials in Tripoli, during his father's reign, he was the second most widely recognized person in Libya, being at times the de facto prime minister, and was mentioned as a possible successor, though he rejected this. An arrest warrant was issued for him on 27 June 2011 by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for charges of crimes against humanity against the Libyan people, for killing and persecuting civilians, under Articles 7(1)(a) and 7(1)(h) of the Rome statute. He denied the charges.

Ayesha Gaddafi, also known as Aisha Gaddafi, is a Libyan former mediator and military official, former UN Goodwill Ambassador, and lawyer by profession. She is the fifth child and only biological daughter of former Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi from his second wife Safia Farkash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in Libya</span>

Human rights in Libya is the record of human rights upheld and violated in various stages of Libya's history. The Kingdom of Libya, from 1951 to 1969, was heavily influenced and educated by the British and Y.R.K companies. Under the King, Libya had a constitution. The kingdom, however, was marked by a feudal regime. Due to the previous colonial regime, Libya had a low literacy rate of 10%, a low life expectancy of 57 years, with many people living in shanties and tents. Illiteracy and homelessness were chronic problems during this era, when iron shacks dotted many urban centres on the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amazonian Guard</span> Female bodyguards of Muammar Gaddafi

The Amazonian Guard was an unofficial name given by Western journalists to an all-female elite cadre of bodyguards officially known as The Revolutionary Nuns, tasked with protecting the late, former leader of the Libyan Jamahiriya, Muammar Gaddafi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luis Moreno Ocampo</span> Argentine lawyer and first prosecutor of the ICC

Luis Moreno Ocampo is an Argentine lawyer who served as the first Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) from 2003 to 2012. Previously, he had played a major role in Argentina's democratic transition (1983–1991).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libyan civil war (2011)</span> 2011 armed conflict

The Libyan civil war, also known as the First Libyan Civil War, was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Zawiya on 8 August 2009 and finally ignited by protests in Benghazi beginning on Tuesday 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security forces who fired on the crowd. The protests escalated into a rebellion that spread across the country, with the forces opposing Gaddafi establishing an interim governing body, the National Transitional Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abu Salim prison</span> Prison in Libya

Abu Salim prison is a maximum security prison in Tripoli, Libya. The prison was notorious during the rule of Muammar Gaddafi for alleged mistreatment and human rights abuses, including a massacre in 1996 in which Human Rights Watch estimated that 1,270 prisoners were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mustafa Abdul Jalil</span> De facto leader of Libya from 2011 to 2012

Mustafa Abdul Jalil is a Libyan politician who was the Chairman of the National Transitional Council from 5 March 2011 until its dissolution on 8 August 2012. This position meant he was de facto head of state during a transitional period after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's government in the Libyan Civil War, and until the handover of power to the General National Congress.

Abdullah Senussi is a Libyan national who was the intelligence chief and brother-in-law of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. He was married to Gaddafi's sister-in-law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the 2011 Libyan Civil War and military intervention (16 August – 23 October)</span>

The Libyan Civil War began on 17 February 2011 as a civil protest and later evolved into a widespread uprising. By mid-August, anti-Gaddafi forces effectively supported by a NATO-led international coalition were ascendant in Tripolitania, breaking out of the restive Nafusa Mountains in the south to mount an offensive toward the coast and advancing from Misrata on loyalist-held cities and villages from the north and east.

Khamis Gaddafi was the seventh and youngest son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and the military commander in charge of the Khamis Brigade of the Libyan Army. He was part of his father's inner circle. During the Libyan Civil War in 2011, he was a major target for opposition forces trying to overthrow his father.

Estimates of deaths in the 2011 Libyan vary with figures from 15,000 to 30,000 given between March 2 and October 2, 2011. An exact figure is hard to ascertain, partly due to a media clamp-down by the Libyan government. Some conservative estimates have been released. Some of the killing "may amount to crimes against humanity" according to the United Nations Security Council and as of March 2011, is under investigation by the International Criminal Court.

Iman al-Obeidi is a former Libyan postgraduate law student who received worldwide media attention during the Libyan Civil War. This was because she burst into the restaurant of the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli and told the international press corps there that Libyan troops had beaten and gang-raped her. Her public statement challenged both the Gaddafi government and the taboo against discussing sex crimes in Libya.

The outbreak of the Libyan Civil War was followed by accusations of human rights violations by rebel forces opposed to Muammar Gaddafi, Gaddafi's armed forces, and NATO. The alleged violations include rape, extrajudicial killings, ethnic cleansing, misconduct and bombings of civilians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the 2011 Libyan Civil War before military intervention</span>

The Libyan Civil War began on 15 February 2011 as a chain of civil protests and later evolved into a widespread uprising against the regime of Muammar Gaddafi. On 25 February, most of eastern Libya was reported to be under the control of protesters and rebel forces. Gaddafi remained in control of the cities of Tripoli, Sirte and Sabha. By 15 March, however, Gaddafi's forces had retaken more than half a dozen lost cities. Except for most of Cyrenaica and a few Tripolitania cities the majority of cities had returned to Gaddafi government control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Tripoli (2011)</span> Battle of the First Libyan Civil War

The Battle of Tripoli, sometimes referred to as the Fall of Tripoli, was a military confrontation in Tripoli, Libya, between loyalists of Muammar Gaddafi, the longtime leader of Libya, and the National Transitional Council, which was attempting to overthrow Gaddafi and take control of the capital. The battle began on 20 August 2011, six months after the First Libyan Civil War started, with an uprising within the city; rebel forces outside the city planned an offensive to link up with elements within Tripoli, and eventually take control of the nation's capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the 2011 Libyan Civil War and military intervention (June – 15 August)</span>

The 2011 Libyan Civil War began on 17 February 2011 as a civil protest and later evolved into a widespread uprising. After a military intervention led by France, the United Kingdom, and the United States on 19 March turned the tide of the conflict at the Second Battle of Benghazi, anti-Gaddafi forces regrouped and established control over Misrata and most of the Nafusa Mountains in Tripolitania and much of the eastern region of Cyrenaica. In mid-May, they finally broke an extended siege of Misrata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Muammar Gaddafi</span> 2011 killing in Sirte, Libya

The killing of Muammar Gaddafi took place on 20 October 2011 after the Battle of Sirte. Muammar Gaddafi, the deposed leader of Libya, was captured by NTC forces and executed shortly afterwards.

The international reactions to the killing of Muammar Gaddafi concern the responses of foreign governments and supranational organisations to the killing of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi at the Battle of Sirte, the last major engagement of the 2011 Libyan civil war, on 20 October 2011.

Seham Sergiwa is a Libyan psychologist elected to the Libyan parliament in 2014. She was abducted by a Libyan National Army militia loyal to Khalifa Haftar on 17 July 2019. The United Nations Support Mission in Libya expressed its deep concern and stated that "silencing the voices of women in decision-making positions [would] not be tolerated." As of 17 October 2019, Sergiwa's location was unknown and the "authorities in eastern Libya" had not published the results of any investigation.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Cockburn, Patrick (24 June 2011). "Amnesty questions claim that Gaddafi ordered rape as weapon of war". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022.
  2. 1 2 Krause-Jackson, Flavia; Alexander, Caroline (6 July 2011). "Rape as Weapon of War Is UN Focus". Bloomberg.
  3. 1 2 "Libya rape claims 'hysteria' - investigator". Herald Sun. 10 June 2011.
  4. 1 2 MacAskill, Ewen (29 April 2011). "Gaddafi 'supplies troops with Viagra to encourage mass rape', claims diplomat". London: Guardian.
  5. ↑ Sidner, Sara; Ahmed, Amir (23 May 2011). "Psychologist: Proof of hundreds of rape cases during Libya's war". CNN . Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  6. ↑ Rice, Xan; Norton-Taylor, Richard; Pilkington, Ed; Stephen, Chris (9 June 2011). "Gaddafi faces new ICC charges for using rape as weapon in conflict". London: Guardian.
  7. ↑ "Gaddafi ordered mass rape as a weapon, International Criminal Court claims". London: The Telegraph. 9 June 2011.
  8. ↑ "Clinton accuses Gaddafi of using rape as a tool". hindustantimes. 17 June 2011. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013.
  9. ↑ "Clinton Condemns Sexual Violence In the Mideast". VOA. 15 July 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  10. ↑ "US intel: No evidence of Viagra as weapon in Libya". NBC News . Archived from the original on 10 December 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  11. ↑ "ICC to investigate reports of Viagra-fueled gang-rapes in Libya". CNN. 17 May 2011. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015.
  12. ↑ Libya troops using rape as a weapon. CNN. 17 May 2011.
  13. ↑ "Libya Gaddafi rape victims to be compensated". BBC. 20 February 2014.
  14. ↑ Enders, David (7 September 2011). "African women say rebels raped them in Libyan camp". Miami Herald. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  15. ↑ Assad, Abdulkader (21 July 2019). "Libya's Justice Ministry says release of last Gaddafi PM is "temporary"". The Libya Observer . Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.

Bibliography

External media
Audio
Nuvola apps arts.svg Gaddafi accused of ordering mass rape, ABC News
Video
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg UN suspects Gaddafi approved mass-rape policy, Euronews
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Gaddafi ordered mass rape, ICC prosecutor says, France 24
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Gaddafi accused of using rape as weapon, BBC
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Allegations Qaddafi Gave Troops Viagra-Like Medicine, Ordered Them to Rape Thousands of Women, Fox News
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Gaddafi Soldiers Given Viagra and Condoms for Rape?, Newsy.com
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Gaddafi forces accused of rape, AlJazeera
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Libya troops using rape as a weapon?, CNN
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Gadhafi troops of mass rape, CNN
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.