Unjust treatment in Bahrain
From Michael Holmes, CNN
Back|Story
CNN Investigations Unit correspondent Amber Lyon got more than a story when she visited Bahrain recently – she and her crew had the experience of being forced to the ground with automatic weapons pointed at their heads.
Amber and team were there working on a documentary which included telling the story of Bahrain's ongoing crackdown on pro reform protesters. Here’s her report, our chat with her about her experience and what’s going on in Bahrain.
Gadhafi's son arranges CNN interview with alleged Libyan rape victim
Nic Robertson and CNN Photographer Khalil Abdallah spoke with Back|Story to describe what it was like to be in the room with Eman al-Obeidy, how the interview was arranged and who else was in the room with them as the interview took place.
From Nic Robertson:
TRIPOLI, Libya (CNN) - It has been almost two weeks since Eman al-Obeidy burst into our hotel in Tripoli, desperate for the world to hear her story of rape and torture. We had been trying since then to interview her in person and were finally able to speak to her Wednesday, against the explicit wishes of the Libyan government.
"You should not be allowed to do this," government spokesman Musa Ibrahim told me.
The interview with al-Obeidy was facilitated by Gadhafi's son Saadi and was subject to a government review. We asked al-Obeidy if she would be willing to come to Saadi Gadhafi's office. She agreed and Gadhafi sent a car to pick her up.
She came dressed in ornate black robes and with her head covered. She called herself an ordinary citizen, a good Muslim who is conservative in her social outlook. She spoke with clarity and exuded strength through the conversation, adamant about clearing her name she said Libyan state media had smeared.
"Everything they said about me is a lie," she said.
"I am well-educated unlike the way the Libyan TV portrayed me. I come from a good family, regardless of what they said, I am also not mentally challenged like they said. Just because I raised my voice and talked to the media they blamed me and questioned my sanity. Nonetheless, I want my rights, even without the media."
She spoke of her abduction, of how she was taken to one of the residences of Moammar Gadhafi's soldiers. They were drunk, she said. They tied her up, beat and raped her.
Her bruises had faded, but I could still the see the evidence of her agony around her wrists. She said in the height of her trauma, she took pictures with the camera on her mobile phone, lest people should not believe her later.
"People have blamed me for showing my body," she said. "I was depressed and there was no way to show people how I was tortured. I was brutally tortured to the point of them entering weapons inside me. They would also pour alcohol in my eyes."
She said the men who tortured her are still free, without punishment. Later Saadi Gadhafi told me: "The people responsible for raping her should face charges. She is a strong woman."
The Revealer: Artist spies on Britain's MI6
For the first time ever, an artist has been invited into MI6, for an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at Britain's Secret Intelligence Service. To mark MI6's 100th anniversary, James Hart Dyke spent a year shadowing spies and illustrating their activities. It was a top secret mission; he was required to sign the Official Secrets Act, and was allowed to tell only his wife and parents what he was doing.
His challenge was to capture the mystery, intrigue and excitement of the world of espionage, without letting any state secrets slip. MI6 gave him extraordinary access. But Hart Dyke's work was eventually censored; some drawings and paintings even have holes cut out of them.
Hart Dyke's work looks pretty ordinary at first glance. If you walked in off the street, you might think his art portrayed everyday images like a man in a hotel room, a woman standing on a street corner or a neighborhood in a third world country. But we reveal the "real life of a spy" - and show how, when it comes to the murky world of espionage, nothing is ever as it seems.
In this episode of "The Revealer", James Hart Dyke talks about how the project took over his life, and the biggest challenge he faced on the job.
Ahmad to Gadhafi: "If I were to see his face, I would strangle him"
TOBRUK, Libya (CNN) - Like everyone else, Aisha Ahmad watched the riveting drama unfold in a Tripoli hotel as a desperate woman burst into a dining room filled with journalists, sobbing, screaming, wanting the world to know she had been raped by 15 of Moammar Gadhafi's militia men.
The arresting images of how swiftly the woman, Eman al-Obeidy, 29, and the journalists were stifled stirred viewers around the world. But perhaps none more so than Ahmad. This was her daughter. And she was enraged. Just weeks before, Ahmad might have wept in silence. But now, with war engulfing Libya and its future hanging in the balance, Ahmad feared Gadhafi no more.
"If I were to see his face, I would strangle him," she told CNN in an interview at her modest home in the eastern coastal city of Tobruk.
CNN Phographer Khalil Abdallah was eating breakfast in the hotel, when Aisha Ahmad's daughter Eman al-Obeidy burst in on Saturday. What happened next was unexpected and violent. Khalil, the CNN Photographer, told his story to Michael Holmes on Tuesday.
Gorani: "The big frustration for people in Syria is corruption"
By Back|Story staff, CNN International
CNN Center (CNN) There is a lot of focus on the historical pattern of unrest happening in the Middle East. Syria is particularly interesting and protests there are the latest focus of the wave of events where people in the region are expressing concern and unhappiness with the status quo.
We've seen protests in the southern Syrian city of Daraa where at least 15 people have been killed at the time of this recording you see in the video above. Even surprisingly, some protests in Damascus as well; but also of note are reports of protests in the city of Hema which is significant given it's history: there was a heavy attack in 1982 by the Syrian Army to shut down a revolt involving the Muslim Brotherhood. Syria isn't a culture of protests, unlike Egypt where even before their latest revolution you would still see protests happening.
Hala Gorani of CNN International has been to Syria many times. We felt we should sit down with her to talk about some of the details that stand out about Syria's brand of unrest.
It turned out to be quite an enlightening conversation about a complex yet intriguing country.
Reporting from dangerous places
Posted by Back|Story staff, CNN
Michael Holmes has decades of experience reporting from inside some of the world's most important events of his generation. CNN U.S. asked him to speak about the lifestyle it takes to do such a, sometimes dangerous, job. We'll let Michael do the talking here. Take a look at the video above.
About The Revealer
A new Back|Story series that unearths fascinating new secrets about places and stories you thought you knew. Every other Thursday on Back|Story“The Revealer” Game
Join the action on our new series, “The Revealer.” Use the photo clues to figure out what the subject of this week’s episode will be. Click on the picture to the left for more.
