Presenter: Dear viewers, we conclude this programme today with an exclusive interview that AlAan TV Network correspondent Jeenan Moussa conducted with Maryam Omar, the cousin of Eman Al Obeidy who was raped by Gaddafi’s security forces:
Maryam: This is her daughter, she has 7 daughters. She has Eman, a law graduate from Az Zawiya faculty. She also has Aamaal, who is a graduate from the Arts and Humanities Faculty who works in Tripoli in the Administrative Control department. Eman goes to visit her sister, she stays with her sister who has children. Their family are tight-knit. Yesterday she was captured and attacked at the Tripoli checkpoints.
Interviewer: When did she leave to visit Tripoli?
Maryam: She always goes to visit her sister in Tripoli. There are security checkpoints inside Tripoli and they were the ones who captured her and raped her. But she always goes to visit. Her sister is married to Saleh AdDeenaali who they will most probably say has been killed, as Eeman says. He has been killed and her sister’s child has also been kidnapped.
…No, this is the first time. We were shocked and overwhelmed and since yesterday we have not slept. And we don’t know how to take our rights but it is important that people know the truth.
This girl is a Law graduate. How can she be a Law graduate and have a mental health problem? But it is more than likely that they will hit her on the head and cause her to have a mental issue because they are used to doing this. They are used to such situations in the past. This is not new to them.
Interviewer: Is Eman married? Does she have children? They said she was mad
Maryam: No no, Eman is a young lady. No Eman is not mad. Eman is a Law graduate, how can a Law faculty graduate mad people? Eman is a thoughtful person. Is it possible for her to go and stay with her sister who has 2 children while she has a mental problem?
Interviewer: Have you heard any news since they took her?
Maryam: After they took her, her family in Tobruk held a funeral due to the death of her brother-in-law and her nephew. And she said in the video: They killed Saleh and they kidnapped Hamad.
Interviewer: Who is Saleh and Hamad
Maryam: Saleh is her sister’s husband. The husband of Aamaal. And Hamad is her sister’s son.
Interviewer: And where is Aamaal?
Maryam: Aamaal’s whereabouts are unknown, it is possible that they will bring her out today on the Libyan State TV channel so she can say that my sister has a mental problem. And it is natural that she would do this after being threatened gunpoint. God is sufficient for us and the best Helper he is.
Interviewer: Right, the family in Tobruk, did they attempt to contact the security forces? …
Maryam: WHICH security forces?
Interviewer: Did you try to contact them to see if you could have her released?
Maryam: Impossible! It’s impossible….can anyone release their….. forget the topic. Forget the topic. Unless it was through the power of God, Lord of all creation.
Interviewer: Alright. Her sister in Tripoli, why didn’t she move back here after things started..
Maryam: She works in the Administrative Control department in Tripoli, and when they closed Tripoli, Tripoli became like one big prison. We call our family members who have Al Thurayya mobile telephones and they tell us “we cannot gather in groups more than 3 people”, and “our lives are tied to restocking water, bread and petrol/gas only”. There are no extra errands other than these three in Tripoli.
Interviewer: if Gaddafi and his children could hear you right now, what message would you direct to them?
Maryam: Gaddafi has no face anyways. Every time he says something and they prove he is a liar, he finds this ok. He has gotten used to people exposing his lies, he is used to this now.
Interviewer: Right, would you wish to send a message to anyone of there?
Maryam: All of them are like each other, believe me. All of them are the same. Do you think that some of them are better than each other over there? They’re all the same. But they need to know that God is Greater than the tyrant and that Muammar (Gaddafi) is going to end no doubt
Interviewer: What do you think will happen to Eman and Aamaal and her husband?
Maryam: No no no…we have forgotten them now. All of them will leave either mentally mad or dead. There is no ending, it ended now. The end is that Eman, may God bless her, disgraced him and exposed the utmost extreme face of Gaddafi in which he targets women. This is the last face, this is the last face.
Interviewer: In the many times that she’s visited Tripoli, did she ever tell you that something happened to her on the way?
Maryam: No no no. She used to always visit and go see her sister. But these checkpoints…
**Telephone call**
Maryam: yes Fadl, hello. Hello? Can you hear me? Yes, how are you doing? What are the news where you are?
Fadl: We don’t anything new since we watched things on the TV, we haven’t understood a thing.
Maryam: And regarding Saleh, is he dead?
Fadl: Who’s Ali?
Maryam: Saleh Saleh, Aamaal’s husband
Fadl: We haven’t confirmed this yet. We heard it said on the telephone that he was captured. They said he was dead and that the child was missing.
Maryam: He is dead and the child is missing yeah?
Fadl: Yes
Interviewer: Who’s Fadl?
Maryam: Fadl her uncle. Eman’s uncle
Interviewer: He is present in Tobruk?
Maryam: Yes. Eman was born in 1982, she’s not old at all.
Interviewer: You must’ve been shocked?
Maryam: I was shocked/surprised. I was shocked and not at the same time. I was shocked to see my cousin on TV, but I wasn’t shocked that these are Mu’ammar (Gaddafi’s) actions. These actions aren’t strange to him, they aren’t stange to him. Tomorrow you will fill newspapers, magazines, walls and TVs. You will probably spend a whole year speaking about his villainy and wretchedness. This is Mu’ammar Gaddafi and he will not change. There is nothing new.
Interviewer: Right, they said that she was intoxicated and drunk…
Maryam: Then they should specify. Does she have a mental problem or is she drunk? How did she manage to reach the hotel? A mad person speaks and a sane mind listens, how did she reach the hotel?
Interviewer: Normally, is her personality strong?
Maryam: Her personality is strong yes. Normally you categorise people and say for example that so-and-so is a doctor, this means he has his profession. When you say “Law” this means someone who documents every step and action they take with pen and paper and knows every single step they make