Libya: Gaddafi forces detain and beat BBC team
Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi’s security forces detained and beat up a BBC news team who were trying to reach the strife-torn western city of Zawiya.
The trio were beaten with fists, knees and rifles, hooded and subjected to mock executions by members of Libya’s army and secret police.
The three men were held for 21 hours, but have now flown out of Libya following their detention on Monday.
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Well, it was just a matter of time before Gaddafi unleashes his goons on the international media. He won’t let them into supposed “retaken” cities and he’s blasted foreign media outlets for “distorting” and “misleading” events there, among others.
On BBC News’ Live Updates, they have posted accounts by the team about their detention:
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2203: The BBC’s Wyre Davies says: “Like many reporters seeking to get around Libyan government restrictions, the team from the BBC Arabic service was trying to get into the town of Zawiya, controlled earlier this week by anti-government rebels but under attack by Col Gaddafi’s forces. After being detained at an army roadblock, the three men were taken to a military barracks in Tripoli where they were blindfolded, handcuffed and beaten. Reporter Feras Killani was singled out for repeated beatings and was repeatedly attacked because of his coverage of the Libyan uprising. After being released, all three team members told us that they had feared for their lives. There were at least two mock executions, with live bullets being fired past the head of one of them men. Although a senior Libyan government later apologised for their treatment at the hands of the army, the men have now left the country.”
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2209: One of the team, Chris Cobb-Smith, said: “We were lined up against the wall. I was the last in line - facing the wall. I looked and I saw a plain-clothes guy with a small sub-machine gun. He put it to everyone’s neck. I saw him and he screamed at me. Then he walked up to me put the gun to my neck and pulled the trigger, twice, the bullets whisked past my ear. The soldiers just laughed.”
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2214: BBC cameraman Goktay Koraltan said they saw other prisoners, mainly from Zawiya, in a much worse state than them were: “I cannot describe how bad it was. Most of them were hooded and handcuffed really tightly, all with swollen hands and broken ribs. They were in agony. They were screaming.”
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2222: BBC Arabic reporter Feras Killani said: “In one cell there were about 10 to 12 prisoners. Two of them were Egyptians, the others Libyans. The majority of them were from Zawiya. I understood from other guys that they were fighters, or that they were accused of fighting against Muammar Gaddafi’s army. Four of them were in a very bad situation. There was evidence of torture on their faces and bodies. One of them said he had at least two broken ribs. I spent at least six hours helping them drink, sleep, urinate, and move from one side to another.”
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2224: Feras Killani added: “When we arrived at the detention centre, one of the soldiers hit me in the back with his Kalashnikov. I dropped to the ground. They then asked me to put my hands behind my head. Then I started to hear the weapon being cocked. I thought I only had minutes to live, and that they would shoot me. I thought at that moment that if they had decided to do it, they would. I just closed my eyes and asked God to help me.”