In response to the plight of Eman al-Obaidy, a Libyan woman who rushed into a hotel full of journalists to tell of the brutal rape and mistreatment she had suffered at the hands of Gaddafi soldiers, the Libyan government spokesman Musa Ibrahim denied her story with the following:
After the episode, Musa Ibrahim, a government spokesman, said she appeared to be drunk and mentally ill. He said that the authorities were investigating the case, including the possibility that her reports of abuse were “fantasies.”
Drunk? Right, in Libya, sometimes mistaken for Ireland or Russia, with its heavy drinking culture. Good call.
Mentally ill? Possibly -- it's called "post-traumatic stress disorder." It sometimes happens after, say, things like this:
She said she had been raped by 15 men. “I was tied up, and they defecated and urinated on me,” she said. “They violated my honor.”
Fantasies? Now that, sir, is bold. Try this:
She displayed a broad bruise on her face, a large scar on her upper thigh, several narrow and deep scratch marks lower on her leg, and marks from binding around her hands and feet.
While her allegations of sexual assault have not yet been proven, those bruises and scratch marks sound a lot like reality. Not, I'm sorry to say, "fantasies," Mister Ibrahim. It is a reality that I sincerely, sincerely hope you, your scummy boss-man Gaddafi and the people who hurt Ms. al-Obaidy are held accountable for.
What else? Was she wearing a short skirt? Makeup? Did she bat her eyelashes seductively at the guards while they handcuffed her? Please do not disrespect or injure her further in the "investigation" that you have promised.