It has been reported that a US-born Syrian blogger was arrested on Sunday. In a statement, the Syrian Centre for Media and Free Expression said that Razan Ghazzawi, 30, was arrested by Syrian officials at the Syrian and Jordan border while attempting to leave Syria to attend a conference for advocates of free press in the Arab world in Amman, Jordan.
Ghazzawi is a blogger and human rights advocate, and has been actively documenting human rights violations and arrests in Syria since the start of the uprising against Bashar Al-Assad in March. She is one of the few Syrian bloggers to do so without an alias. Syrian authorities have yet to comment on the arrest. Ghazzawi’s last post before her arrest celebrated the release of the arrested blogger and activist Hussein Ghrer, who was held for 37 days. She wrote:
Hussein is going to be home tonight, where he will be holding his wife tight, and never let go of his two precious sons again. It’s all going to be alright, and it will all be over very soon.
Activists and supporters have turned to Twitter to campaign for her release, using the hashtag #FreeRazan to comment on her arrest.