NOVANEWS
ANOTHER human rights violation! Free Razan Ghazzawi now! Mary Rizzo: THEY ARRESTED RAZAN! I HATE THEM! because for years she has blogged about the prisoners in the Damascus Spring, she has blogged about all the detained bloggers, she is a human rights activist, she is a decent human being who I love very much. i hate them i hate them.. Damn fascists!!!! i hate you fascists!!! I guess you guys don’t know Razan Ghazzawi. She’s been a friend of mine for about 12 years, a Syrian who supported Hezbollah publicly and loudly and who now realizes that they don’t give a shit about “Syrians”, and they probably never did.
So many Syrians saying the same thing, not ZIONISTS; not Israheil apologists, has got to make people sit up and think! but they go on repeating the same sort of stuff. The Local Co-ordination Committees activist network say Syrian blogger Razan Ghazzawi 30, was arrested on Sunday at the Syrian-Jordanian border as she was on her way to attend a workshop for defenders of freedom of the press in the Arab world in Amman as the representative of the Syrian Centre for Media and Free Expression. “She was arrested as she presented her passport to immigration at the Syrian border post of Nassib to cross to Jordan,” one of her friends told Reuters.
Ghazzawi’s last posting on http://razanghazzawi.com/reported the release of fellow blogger Hussein Ghreir, freed last week after 37 days in jail. Ghazzawi said Ghreir was lucky because he had spent most of his incarceration in a regular jail, compared to detention at secret police dungeons, home to “the worst kinds of torture”. Write a comment…HOW could you all ACCEPT such CRUELTY.. SPEAK
STATEMENT BY HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS AND DEFENDERS
(Link to statement in Arabic)
Authorities in Syria arrested Syrian blogger, feminist, and activist for free expression Razan Ghazzawi on December 4, 2011. She was at the Jordanian border, traveling to attend a conference on media freedom in the Arab world. She was representing the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), where she works as a coordinator.
Razan, a poet and critic as well as an activist, studied English literature at Damascus University and comparative literature at Balamand University in Lebanon. Since 2009, she has blogged on human rights, international solidarity, and Syrian politics at www.razanghazzawi.com. She is one of very few bloggers in Syria who writes under her own name; and she has consistently spoken out for women, for ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities, and for all victims of discrimination or abuse.
For many of us in Egypt, in the region, and around the world, Razan is a mentor, an ally, and a personal friend. Her principled commitment to human rights has been an example to us. Her courage and her willingness to face danger head-on have been an inspiration.
In one of her last blog posts before she was arrested, Razan wrote: “I do not believe in a ‘national consciousness,’ I don’t believe in nationality …Once we drop hyphenations, we become as one.” In that spirit, we say: Razan’s struggle is our struggle. The Syrian people’s battle for freedom is our battle. Now we ask you for your solidarity and support.
What can you do?
1) Contact Syrian diplomatic representatives in your countries immediately. In faxes or phone calls, urge:
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that Razan Ghazzawi be released unconditionally;
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that she be protected from torture or ill-treatment while she remains in detention;
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that all political prisoners in Syria be released;
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that Syria end arbitrary arrests, torture and ill-treatment of detainees, and violence against protesters and opposition members.
A list of addresses and phone numbers for Syrian embassies and consulates can be foundhere, or here.
2) Organize peaceful vigils or demonstrations at Syrian embassies or consulates calling for the release of Razan Ghazzawi and all political prisoners in Syria.
Additional resources:
Facebook page “Free Razan Ghazzawi” (Arabic): link to on.fb.me
Twitter: freerazan#
This statement is signed by:
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Ahmad Ragheb – Human rights activist-Executive director (Hisham Mubarak Law Center)
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Dalia Abd El Hameed – Human rights activist – Gender officer (Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights)
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Mona Seif – Human rights activist (No to Military Trials)
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Mozn Hassan – Feminist, human rights activist- Executive director (Nazra for Feminist Studies)
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Scott Long – Human rights activist (Human Rights Program, Harvard Law School)
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Tarek Moustafa – Feminist, human rights activist (Nazra for Feminist Studies)
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Yara Sallam – Feminist, human rights activist (Nazra for Feminist Studies)
