Two months after Shweyga Mullah was flown to Malta for treatment, having been horribly tortured by former dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s daughter-in-law, CNN has broadcast and published an interview with the Ethiopian woman, who is still receiving treatment at Mater Dei Hospital as an outpatient.

CNN found Ms Mullah, the Gaddafis’ nanny, abandoned in a Gaddafi family compound in August. She had recounted the story of how Hannibal Gaddafi’s wife Aline Skaf poured boiling water over her head after she refused to beat their (the Gaddafis’) toddler. She was brought to Malta for treatment on 15 September.

CNN senior international correspondent Dan Rivers reported that in an interview in Malta she said she does not feel “ready physically or emotionally to return to Ethiopia and be subjected to the scrutiny of people in her hometown. She remains profoundly self-conscious of her appearance.”

CNN footage shows Ms Mullah at a small party organised by a small group of Ethiopians soon after she was discharged from hospital.

“It’s heart-warming to see her finally enjoying herself. All her Ethiopian friends here had been lured to Libya by promises of lucrative work. But no one we know of has suffered quite like Shweyga.”

Her dreadful story led to people from around the world donating about $40,000 to a special fund for her recovery. CNN reported that she is now living in a small apartment and is receiving some financial help from the Qatari government, which has helped bankroll the Libyan revolution and arm its fighters.

“Shweyga’s life here is not ideal though. She yearns to see her family, but red tape has slowed down efforts to bring her relatives to Malta.”

CNN also interviewed a consultant in charge of Ms Mullah’s case and a nurse who has been treating her, Mary Rose Bonnici, who said the wounds on her scalp have been healing gradually.

And consultant Francis Xavier Darmanin was quoted as saying: “Ms Mullah had regular physiotherapy for mobilisation of her limbs especially the right shoulder which showed signs of early contractures due to immobility from the burns that she had sustained. She also had the support of our psychologists in helping her to get over the horrific trauma that she had sustained. In both aspects she did very well.”

Asked about Col Gaddafi’s daughter-in-law, whose whereabouts remain unknown, Ms Mullah told CNN she hopes she will one day be caught and prosecuted.