A lesbian blogger who has gained a worldwide following with her blog A Gay Girl in Damascus has reportedly been kidnapped by armed men. Known for her witty thoughts on Syria's uprising, politics and being a lesbian in the country, Amina Arraf is said to have blogged under the name Amina Abdallah. The Guardian reports she holds dual Syrian and American citizenship. A cousin has reported she was grabbed as she and a friend were on their way to a meeting in Damascus. "Amina was seized by three men in their early 20s. According to the witness (who does not want her identity known), the men were armed," wrote Rania Ismail. "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. That is what we are all praying for," she wrote. Several Facebook pages had been set up calling for her release and activists are tweeting using the hashtag FreeAmina. There are rumours flying across the cyberworld that the blog is an elaborate hoax, but there is as yet no firm proof of this.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 9th June 2011 - 2:25pm