Syrian Blogger Amina Abdullah is Abducted

Syrian blogger Amina Abdullah Araf al-Omari, whose blog is A Gay Girl in Damascus, was reportedly abducted forcibly earlier today, presumably either by security services or Baathist militiamen. Her cousin posted a description of her abduction earlier today and there has been one further update, and of course there is a Facebook Free Amina Page already. Also a #FreeAmina hashtag on Twitter.

As both a political dissident and an openly gay woman in a closed society she has encountered problems before; I previously linked to her account of how her father defended her when security men sought to arrest her previously.

Of course with perhaps thousands dead in the Syrian uprising so far, the disappearance of one blogger can be considered a small sideshow of an enormous tragedy. But individuals sometimes become symbols (Mohammed Bouazizi in Tunis, Khalid Said in Egypt; today was the anniversary of his death), and the online community does tend to come to the defense of its own.