Monday, June 6, 2011

Syrian blogger Amina Abdallah kidnapped by armed men

I was so afraid of this.

A blogger whose frank and witty thoughts on Syria's uprising, politics and being a lesbian in the country shot her to prominence was last night seized by armed men in Damascus.

Amina Arraf, who blogged under the name Amina Abdallah, holds dual Syrian and American citizenship and is the author of the blog A Gay Girl in Damascus, which has drawn fans from Syria and across the world.

She was kidnapped last night as she and a friend were on their way to a meeting in Damascus. The kidnapping was reported on her blog by a cousin.

Please, to all of our readers, pray for this brave woman.

3 comments:

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  2. At least the news is spreading. Even the mainstream media has picked it up.
    From the NY Daily News:
    An outspoken lesbian blogger in Syria, where homosexuality is illegal, was reportedly snatched off the streets of Damascus on Monday, sparking concerns about her safety.

    Amina Abdallah Araf al Omari began her blog, "A Gay Girl in Damascus," earlier this year. It consists of erotic poems and frank discussions about the Middle East nation's anti-regime uprising, which she claimed to participate in.

    Her cousin, Rania Ismail, wrote on the blog Monday that the 35-year-old was "seized by three men in their early 20s."

    "According to the witness [who does not want her identity known], the men were armed," she wrote. "Amina hit one of them and told the friend to go find her father."

    Ismail said one of the men put a hand over Araf's mouth and "hustled her into a red Dacia Logan."

    "The men are assumed to be members of one of the security services or the Baath Party militia," she wrote. "Amina's present location is unknown, and it is unclear if she is in a jail or being held elsewhere in Damascus."

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  3. Amina wrote "I am an Arab, I am Syrian, I am a woman, I am queer, I am Muslim, I am binational, I am tall, I am too thin; my sect is Sunni, my clan is Omari, my tribe is Quraysh, my city is Damascus,"

    I hope she is ok. i pray that she is ok.

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