Human Rights Group: No Evidence Gaddafi Encouraged Troops to Rape

Human rights organizations have failed to find evidence that the government of Libya’s Colonel Muammar Gaddafi engaged in rape and other widely reported abuses. The allegations were used by the United States and NATO to justify the invasion of the north African country.

Since the uprising against Gaddafi that began in mid-February, the corporate media has published lurid stories accusing the leader and his troops of using helicopters to fire on protesters, ordering mass rapes, and using foreign mercenaries.

The ludicrous story that Gaddafi distributed Viagra to troops first came to light in March after NATO had attacked tanks advancing on Benghazi. At that time the rebels showed packages of Viagra to foreign journalists, said Donatella Rovera, senior crisis response adviser for Amnesty, who was in Libya for three months after the start of the uprising.