American lesbian blogger kidnapped in Syria

Source: MSNBC

A female blogger who emerged as an unlikely spokesperson for the largely anonymous anti-government protests sweeping Syria was seized by armed men on the streets of the capital, according to a post late Monday.

American-Syrian Amina Araf, who penned 'A Gay Girl in Damascus' under the name Amina Abdallah, was walking with a friend when three men in their twenties grabbed her, someone claiming to be her cousin wrote. Being openly gay is very unusual and risky in the region.

"One of the men then put his hand over Amina's mouth and they hustled her into a red Dacia Logan with a window sticker of Basel Assad," a person identifying calling herself Rania O. Ismail wrote on the blog Monday night.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43306543/ns/world_news/

One only knows what those sick bastards are doing to her...I guess we can only hope her being an America will work to her advantage & not the other way around.

I really hope they just kick her out of the country but something tells me she is not going to be that lucky.

... and I don't believe there'll be a good outcome to this outrage. Religious insanity/Homophobia knows no borders...

of her being gay ? :shrug:

Subheading:

An out Syrian lesbian's thoughts on life, the universe and so on

http://damascusgaygirl.blogspot.com/

As with most of the rest of the region, it's a crime punishable by something between prison sentences and death depending on the mood of the judge and security forces.

from her blog....

http://damascusgaygirl.blogspot.com/
6 June 2011
Update on Amina


I have been on the telephone with both her parents and all that we can say right now is that she is missing. Her father is desperately trying to find out where she is and who has taken her.

Unfortunately, there are at least 18 different police formations in Syria as well as multiple different party militias and gangs. We do not know who took her so we do not know who to ask to get her back. It is possible that they are forcibly deporting her.

From other family members who have been imprisoned there, we believe that she is likely to be released fairly soon. If they wanted to kill her, they would have done so................

the USA would declare war on Syria.
But instead, I expect the USA to do nothing to help her. Infact, she will be condemed by the Right wing for her sexual orientation and activisim. She will be accused of being a commie or something. Maybe "a far left activist"?

All except Christian, I dare suggest.

...the UNSC resolution to make Syria stop the tyrannical crackdown. Of course, anti-war activists quietly championed the UNSC's inaction but this young woman and many many many others like her will be punished severely.

What breaks my heart is how they're going to take care of that uppity lesbian girl, one need not a vivid imagination to think of the atrocities that may be committed.

I really hope I am wrong.

It's not looking good at all. :cry:

Londoner says missing Syrian blogger stole her identity

The reported disappearance of a gay Syrian-American blogger has attracted skepticism after a London woman claimed the photos published by news organizations worldwide are of her, not of the blogger, and that the blogger stole her identity a year ago.

Amina Arraf, known for her criticism of Syrian President Bashar Assad and her open posts about sexuality on a blog called "A Gay Girl in Damascus," was last seen Monday evening being forced into a car in Syria's capital, her cousin, Rania Ismail, said. News sites, including msnbc.com , reported the 35-year-old writer's disappearance on Tuesday, along with a photo of her.

On Wednesday, a London publicist said photos circulating are actually of Jelena Lecic, a Croatian woman who works as an administrator at the Royal College of Physicians in London. Lecic believes her identity has been used before by Arraf.

"Just over a year ago, a friend called Jelena up and said, 'Do you have another identity up on Facebook? Because there's someone else who has your pictures up but not your name," publicist Julius Just told msnbc.com. "She and her friend complained, and Facebook removed it, and she believed it was the end of the matter."

MORE: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43326770/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

PB

There was no "Gay Girl in Damascus" - the guy who made up the fictitious identity has confessed to doing so on the blog.