411 REFERENCE · Wikipedia
2011 Libyan rape allegations
Reference material by Wikipedia contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
none
April 2021
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." 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. 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. In March 2011, Iman al-Obeidi said she was gang-raped before Libyan security services dragged her away.
Investigations by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Doctors Without BordersKrause-Jackson Flavia Alexander Caroline 6 July 2011 Rape as Weapon of War Is UN Focus Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-06/rape-as-weapon-of-war-is-un-focus-after-libyan-woman-s-plight.html did not find evidence that mass rapes had occurred. 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. Amnesty did find that, in many cases, rebels had made false claims about abuse by Gadaffi's soldiers. UN investigator M. Cherif Bassiouni described the claims as "massive hysteria".
2011 allegations
Allegations arose in 2011 that Viagra and other impotency drugs were being distributed by Gaddafi to sustain the rapes.https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/29/diplomat-gaddafi-troops-viagra-mass-rape Gaddafi 'supplies troops with Viagra to encourage mass rape', claims diplomat 29 April 2011 Guardian MacAskill Ewen London The charges were denied by Libyan diplomats and described as propaganda. Libyan psychologist Seham Sergiwa reported a wide pattern of rapes by Libyan government soldiers during the 2011 conflict. 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.https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jun/08/gaddafi-forces-libya-britain-nato Gaddafi faces new ICC charges for using rape as weapon in conflict 9 June 2011 Guardian London Xan Rice Richard Norton-Taylor Ed Pilkington Chris Stephenhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8564999/Gaddafi-ordered-mass-rape-as-a-weapon-International-Criminal-Court-claims.html Gaddafi ordered mass rape as a weapon, International Criminal Court claims 9 Jun 2011 The Telegraph London
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." 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."
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.https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna42824884 US intel: No evidence of Viagra as weapon in Libya NBC News 14 March 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20211210143124/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna42824884 10 December 2021 dead
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. 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". In June 2011, a UN investigator did not find evidence of mass rapes, and branded the claims as "hysteria".http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/libya-rape-claims-hysteria-investigator/story-e6frf7jx-1226072781882 10 June 2011 Libya rape claims 'hysteria' - investigator Herald Sun
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 Prosecutorhttp://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2011/05/17/exp.tsr.robertson.libya.viagra.cnn Libya troops using rape as a weapon CNN 17 May 2011 25%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.July 2019
In 2014, the new Libyan government said that compensation should be paid for the victims of rape during the war.20 Feb 2014 Libya Gaddafi rape victims to be compensated https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-26270890 BBC
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.Enders David 7 September 2011 African women say rebels raped them in Libyan camp https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article1938633.html Miami Herald 8 April 2021
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.
See also
Wartime sexual violence
Human rights violations in the 2011 Libyan Civil War
Al Jazeera controversies#Libya
Embedded feminism
References
Sidner Sara Ahmed Amir Psychologist: Proof of hundreds of rape cases during Libya's war 23 May 2011 CNN http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/05/23/libya.rape.survey.psychologist/ 22 July 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20170812100748/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/05/23/libya.rape.survey.psychologist/ 12 August 2017 dead
http://articles.cnn.com/2011-05-17/world/libya.rapes.icc_1_rapes-viagra-pills-libyan-leader-moammar-gadhafi?_s=PM:WORLD ICC to investigate reports of Viagra-fueled gang-rapes in Libya CNN 17 May 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20151001064718/http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/05/17/libya.rapes.icc/index.html?_s=PM:WORLD 1 October 2015 dead
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/amnesty-questions-claim-that-gaddafi-ordered-rape-as-weapon-of-war-2302037.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/amnesty-questions-claim-that-gaddafi-ordered-rape-as-weapon-of-war-2302037.html 1 May 2022 subscription 24 June 2011 Amnesty questions claim that Gaddafi ordered rape as weapon of war The Independent Cockburn Patrick London
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Clinton-accuses-Gaddafi-of-using-rape-as-a-tool/Article1-710387.aspx https://archive.today/20130125094746/http://www.hindustantimes.com/Clinton-accuses-Gaddafi-of-using-rape-as-a-tool/Article1-710387.aspx dead 25 January 2013 17 June 2011 Clinton accuses Gaddafi of using rape as a tool hindustantimes
http://www.voanews.com/policy/editorials/africa/Clinton-Condemns--125661488.html https://web.archive.org/web/20110804180920/http://www.voanews.com/policy/editorials/africa/Clinton-Condemns--125661488.html dead 4 August 2011 Clinton Condemns Sexual Violence In the Mideast 15 July 2011 VOA 26 July 2011
Assad Abdulkader Libya's Justice Ministry says release of last Gaddafi PM is "temporary" 21 July 2019 The Libya Observer https://www.libyaobserver.ly/news/libyas-justice-ministry-says-release-last-gaddafi-pm-temporary 22 July 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190722212312/https://www.libyaobserver.ly/news/libyas-justice-ministry-says-release-last-gaddafi-pm-temporary 22 July 2019 live
Bibliography
Blundy David https://archive.org/details/qaddafilibyanre00blun Qaddafi and the Libyan Revolution Lycett Andrew Little Brown & Co 1987 978-0-316-10042-7 Boston David Blundy Andrew Lycett limited
Harris Lillian Craig https://archive.org/details/libyaqadhafisrev0000harr Libya: Qadhafi's Revolution and the Modern State Westview Press 1986 978-0-8133-0075-7 Boulder, Colorado limited
External links
right 350px Gaddafi accused of ordering mass rape, ABC News UN suspects Gaddafi approved mass-rape policy, Euronews Gaddafi ordered mass rape, ICC prosecutor says, France 24 Gaddafi accused of using rape as weapon, BBC Allegations Qaddafi Gave Troops Viagra-Like Medicine, Ordered Them to Rape Thousands of Women, Fox News Gaddafi Soldiers Given Viagra and Condoms for Rape?, Newsy.com Gaddafi forces accused of rape, AlJazeera Libya troops using rape as a weapon?, CNN Gadhafi troops of mass rape, CNN
Category:Libyan civil war (2011)
Category:Wartime sexual violence in Africa
Category:Propaganda legends
Category:Rape in Libya