Tue. June 7, 2011
Damascus, Syria -
Amina Abdalla, a gay blogger in Damascus, Syria who holds dual Syrian and American citizenship, has apparently been kidnapped by armed men.
Abdalla was grabbed on Monday on a Syrian street in front of witnesses by three armed men in their early 20's. One of the men then put his hand over Amina's mouth and they hustled her into a car.
Homosexuality is illegal in Syria but is generally tolerated. Abdalla, 35, was born in the United States to an American mother and Syrian father.
Aside from speaking out against the treatment of gays and lesbians in Syria on her "Gay Girl in Damascus" blog, she's also been speaking out against the Syrian government.
"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," wrote Rania O. Ismail on Abdalla's blog on Monday.
"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."
You can join a support page for Abdalla on Facebook.
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