"I still do not know what I am going to do," Eman al-Obeidy told CNN in an exclusive interview. But at least now, she has escaped from Libya.
Al-Obeidy made international headlines in March, after she ran into a hotel full of journalists in Tripoli, and told reporters that 15 of Gaddafi's men had beaten and raped her. After she was dragged from the hotel by Libyan officials, journalists pressed for answers as campaigns rose up across the world to "free al-Obeidy."
In an audio interview with Anderson Cooper last month, al-Obeidy described how she was abducted at a government checkpoint and held for days. She said that she was bound, beaten, had alcohol poured over her eyes, and was gang raped repeatedly. She said one of the soldiers sodomized her with his Kalishnikov. A government spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, said the men accused by al-Obeidy planned to sue her.
On Thursday, al-Obeidy fled Libya and crossed into Tunisia with the help of a defecting military officer and his family. According to CNN, al-Obeidy left Tripoli in a military car, hidden under a head cover. Although the car was stopped at various checkpoints, al-Obeidy crossed the Dahibah border disguised "in the local manner" and using a refugee document. European diplomats reportedly escorted her to Tunis. While she has called relatives in Egypt, she has yet to hear back from them. CNN reports:
Al-Obeidy's mother learned about her daughter's escape after seeing news reports on TV, her father told CNN from the family's hometown of Tobruk, Libya. Atiq Al-Obeidy said that his wife then called him, and both parents were overjoyed.
Atiq Al-Obeidy admitted he was "not optimistic" that his daughter would be able to safely leave Libya, thinking forces loyal to Gadhafi "would do the worst to her, given his past.
"I am extremely delighted, and I will be looking forward to more information about how she was able to escape," the woman's father said.
In the meantime, Eman al-Obeidy says she continues to fear for her life, and is hoping to receive protection from a Western government.