Libyan woman claiming rape will face charges

Moussa Ibrahim, a Libyan government spokesman, said on Tuesday the men accused by Iman al—Obeidi have filed a case against her, calling her accusations a "grave offence."

FT journalist Charles Clover, centre top, attempts to stop a Libya Ministry of Information official from grabbing Iman Al-Obeidi, bottom right, who alleges she spent two days in detention after being arrested at a checkpoint in Tripoli, and also alleges that she was sexually assaulted by up to 15 men while in custody in Tripoli, after storming into the hotel's breakfast room to show her wounds to the foreign media. File photo: AP.

A Libyan government spokesman says the woman who burst into a hotel to tell foreign journalists how she was gang raped by Muammar Qadhafi’s troops will face criminal charges.

Moussa Ibrahim said on Tuesday the men accused by Iman al—Obeidi have filed a case against her, calling her accusations a “grave offense.”

Ms. Al—Obeidi rushed distraught into a Tripoli hotel on Saturday, seeking to speak about her ordeal. She was tackled by waitresses and government minders and dragged away from the site, and has since been missing. Her parents claim she is held hostage at Col. Qadhafi’s compound in the Libyan capital.

Libyan authorities have alternately labelled Ms. al—Obeidi a drunk, a prostitute and a thief.

The Associated Press only identifies rape victims who volunteer their names.