http://news.yahoo.com/palestinian-woman-escapes-fathers-dark-captivity-185301900.htm
JERUSALEM (AP) — A young Palestinian woman who was imprisoned for 10 years in a series of dark rooms by her father said Monday she survived the ordeal by listening to the radio, dreaming of seeing sunshine again and finding small pleasure in an apple she was fed each day.
Baraa Melhem, 20, said she was enjoying her first taste of freedom after a decade of isolation and threats of rape and abuse, and she hopes to use her experience to help others.
“I have joy now. My life has begun,” the young woman, dressed in red sweat pants, white shoes, a black shawl for warmth and a headscarf, told The Associated Press.
Melhem was rescued by Palestinian security forces in the West Bank town of Qalqiliya on Saturday after an aunt notified police. Adnan Damiri, a Palestinian police spokesman, said she was in “deplorable” condition.
Her father and stepmother, both Arab citizens of Israel, were turned over to Israeli authorities. Locked up in Israel, neither could be reached for comment. The father, Hassan Melhem, 49, is expected to appear in an Israeli court on Wednesday, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. The stepmother’s name wasn’t available.