- Target:
- Syrian Government, Bashar al-Assad, Ban Ki-Moon, Navi Pillay, UNHCHR, EU, Amnesty International
- Region:
- GLOBAL
- Website:
- t.co
This petition is closed because it has come to light that this case was a hoax. The perpetrator of this hoax has done a grave disservice both to the brave Syrians who are dying and suffering for their freedom, and for the cause of gay rights, especially in the Middle East.
One hoax does not eliminate the very real atrocities now being perpetrated by the Syrian regime and others like it. Please do not give up your commitment to human rights and a freer world for all.
Syrian blogger Amina Arraf, who blogs under the name Amina Abdullah and whose blog A Gay Girl in Damascus has readers all over the world, has been missing since Monday night, June 6. She was seized by three armed men suspected of being security agents, and bundled into a waiting car.
Amina's blog "A Gay Girl in Damascus" has readers all over the world. Abdallah, who has used her blog to challenge taboos in the conservative country where homosexuality is illegal but unofficially tolerated, had feared she would be abducted.
Abdallah, 35, had previously written about how her father prevented security agents from arresting her for being an Islamic extremist and a foreign agent.
Amina's father has been desperately trying to find out where she is and who has taken her, but there are at least 18 different police formations in Syria as well as multiple different party militias and gangs -- since Amina's family does not know who took her, they do not know who to ask to get her back. They fear she is being deported or has been imprisoned, or could even have been killed.
Press freedoms watchdog Reporters Without Borders says Syrian security officials have arrested numerous bloggers and journalists as part of a widespread crackdown on challenges to President Bashar al-Assad's grip on power.
We demand the IMMEDIATE release of Syrian blogger Amina Abdallah.
The abduction and disappearance of Syrian blogger Amina Abdallah is an egregious human rights violation. The Syrian government is completely accountable for her safety and well being, and must release her unconditionally.
Furthermore, we demand that the Syrian government cease all forms of persecution against Amina and other peaceful bloggers, journalists and activists. We demand that the international community assure that the Syrian government live up to its human rights commitments under international law.
The Free Amina Abdallah, Abducted Syrian Blogger petition to Syrian Government, Bashar al-Assad, Ban Ki-Moon, Navi Pillay, UNHCHR, EU, Amnesty International was written by John S. Burke and is in the category Human Rights at GoPetition.