New Gaddafi book reveals how dictator imprisoned schoolgirls to rape on daily basis

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ANI London
Last Updated : Oct 19 2013 | 10:50 AM IST

A book written by acclaimed French journalist Annick Cojean reveals that the slain Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi imprisoned schoolgirls to abuse and rape them on a daily basis.

In her book titled, 'Gaddafi's Harem', Cojean wrote that women who have been raped in Libya won't even discuss it with their family for being afraid of consequences.

Gaddafi's torture tales came to light when Cojean was investigating incidents of rape during Libya's 2011 revolution.

Cojean said that the girl named Soraya, who was 15 when she was abused and raped by the dictator, feels angry, afraid and desperate because she wanted justice, but now since the leader has been killed, she has realized there would never be any justice, metro.co.uk reports.

Cojean reveals another horror story of a woman who was raped, fell pregnant and had the baby in secret, because had she gone to a hospital she'd have been arrested for having sex outside marriage. But even when she married a rebel soldier, willing to salvage her honour, she was killed by her brothers.

According to the report, Gaddafi's former security chief, Mansour Daw, also revealed the horrific tales of the dictator's activities, and officials were so threatened that they sent their daughters to be educated overseas to avoid him.

The author further reveals that Gaddafi had his everyday prey and tried to woo performers, TV presenters, and wives of foreign dignitaries with gifts.

Cojean said that Gaddafi's female troop of bodyguards raises questions of how the international community overlooked his behaviour, which were frequently pictured with Gaddafi and believed to be an army of virgins, who had taken a vow of chastity and pledged their lives to protect him.

Cojean's book is now freely available in Libya, and in February, a group of demonstrators held copies of the book as they demanded a law to protect women who have been raped, the report added.

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First Published: Oct 19 2013 | 10:47 AM IST

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