Eman Al-Obeidi Beaten by Qatari Officials Before Deportation

Eman Al-Obeidi after bursting in Rixos Hotel in Tripoli, Libya (3/26/2011)

CNN has reported that Eman Al- Obeidi has been deported from Qatar. Eman Al-Obeidi claims that Qatari officials beat and handcuffed her at the Kempinski Residences and Suites before forcing her onto a military plane headed for Libya. 


Eman Al- Obedi told CNN was beaten in the parking lot by a group of men and women and her father and sister were also hit. Once at the airport, they were hit some more, she said. Amnesty International called Al-Obeidi's deportation "outrageous," saying the action taken by the Qatari government "is a serious breach by Qatar of its international obligations."


Eman Al-Obeidi was in Qatar as a refugee seeking asylum, and the move by Qatari officials has raised a lot of questions. 


According to the CNN report by Nic Robertson, "Nasha Dawaji, a U.S.-based Libyan pro-freedom activist, said she was with three key members of the Transitional National Council when they first learned that Al-Obeidi was forced from Doha and arrived in Benghazi on Thursday. Al-Obeidi had a black eye, like she had been punched, Dawaji said. She also had bruises on her legs and scratches on her arms. The council members were upset upon seeing Al-Obeidi's condition and vowed to open an investigation, Dawaji said."


Furthermore, in the hours leading to her deportation, armed guards had been posted outside her hotel room, preventing a representative from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, from helping her, Al-Obeidi told CNN. The U.N. agency had prepared papers for her departure from Qatar to begin a new life.


Qatar's motivations behind its actions are unclear. Whatever the motivations are, one thing is certain, they are unjustifiable.