Last week it was reported that a woman in Libya was dragged away from a Tripoli hotel after trying to tell foreign reporters that 15 of Muammar Gadhafi’s military men raped her. After undergoing 72 hours of brutal interrogations, she has only recently been released. And although reports as of Monday afternoon stated she had been freed, her family has no idea where she is and has not heard from her. How does something like this happen, and why is nobody doing anything?

Eman al-Obeidy, 29, told journalists she was detained in Tripoli by government troops who tied her up for two days, gang-raped her, peed on her and filmed her, all because she is from an area in east Libya known for strong anti-Gadhafi rebellions, a distressing, but all-too-common reason for detainment. Filmed by many who were present, al-Obeidy started a brawl, while journalists tried to help her by physically blocking many of the workers there who pulled knives on her, smashed reporters’ cameras, and called her a traitor. Only after undergoing relentless interrogations was she supposedly released when a doctor verified that she was tortured and raped — an unimaginable, horrendous situation.

It’s been more than a week already and nobody seems to be helping this woman after she was repeatedly captured by Gadhafi’s forces to try and prevent her from taking her case to police. Officials say they’re unsure of what to do with her because she’s not charged with a crime, but why on earth should she be charged with anything? In such a hostile environment, I find it hard to believe that a woman would make such allegations and put herself in a room full of journalists to tell her story if it wasn’t true. Although no news networks have been able to verify her story, visible injuries and recent telephone interviews with al-Obeidy support her claims.

Journalists have often heard and even witnessed similar incidents of brutality in Libya since the uprising began several weeks ago, but because of strict controls over independent reporting, stories like these have been unable to be told — a sad reality in an era where journalists are supposed to be the watchdogs. I can understand that reporters are subject to harsh laws and regulations outside their home countries, but I just think that something more can be done, especially in situations like this where al-Obeidy clearly went to great lengths to get her story out.

The Libyan regime has been trying to discredit her, calling her a prostitute, mentally unstable, and a drunk. Al-Obeidy’s family members have even been under harsh pressure from the government to publicly denounce her as insane and ruin her reputation. After being taken away from the hotel, she claims she underwent intense psychological abuse,  and even had food thrown at her and water poured on her by interrogators who were Gadhafi loyalists — an inexcusable offense after what she had just gone through.

After being detained once again on Sunday for breaking an agreement with the attorney general to not speak with the press in order to not compromise her case, she supposedly did a telephone interview on Monday with CNN. Although she stated she was no longer in custody, reporters are uncertain that she was released because she has yet been seen, and there is no way to confirm that the caller was al-Obeidy herself — a horrific and unbelievable situation if true — due to government officials trying to make the allegations go away.

On a slightly better note, al-Obeidy is quickly becoming the face of the anti-Gadhafi movement, giving voice to those who have been forced to experience abuse under the harsh regime. Many Libyans are hailing her as a hero and people are, rightly so, demanding to know where she is and fearing for her life. Her repeated detentions are adding fuel to the movement, gathering sympathy and support for her and the Libyan opposition.

Although it’s heart-wrenching that something like this is what it takes for people around the world to pay attention to the cruel regime people are under in Libya, maybe something meaningful will finally be done to help al-Obeidy and the situation, which at present have been unable to come up with solutions and preventions to keep treatment like this happening.