Scam? Mitaken Identity? MSNBC: Londoner says missing Syrian blogger stole her identity

[Poll_Blind]

From MSNBC:

The reported disappearance of a gay Syrian-American blogger has attracted skepticism after a London woman claimed the photos published by news organizations worldwide are of her, not of the blogger, and that the blogger stole her identity a year ago.

Amina Arraf, known for her criticism of Syrian President Bashar Assad and her open posts about sexuality on a blog called "A Gay Girl in Damascus," was last seen Monday evening being forced into a car in Syria's capital, her cousin, Rania Ismail, said. News sites, including msnbc.com , reported the 35-year-old writer's disappearance on Tuesday, along with a photo of her.

On Wednesday, a London publicist said photos circulating are actually of Jelena Lecic, a Croatian woman who works as an administrator at the Royal College of Physicians in London. Lecic believes her identity has been used before by Arraf.

--snip--

No face-to-face interaction with the blogger
Meanwhile, other skeptics pointed out that no one — including a woman who initially claimed she was Arraf's girlfriend — has publicly said they have met the blogger in person.

Four paragraphs doesn't cut it for such an odd story, well worth clicking on at the link.

So...who is this blogger? Are they really in Syrian custody? Why would they have stolen at least one other person's identity? Is the blogger a real person, part of an...ahem...government or intelligence organization of some sort, or what?

Andy Carvin, who works for NPR, reported he couldn't track down anyone who'd actually met Arraf in person. And a Canadian woman who said she was Arraf's girlfriend when giving interviews to major newspapers (including the NYT & Al Jazeera) later backtracked, claiming that she had only communicated with Arraf via email, not in person.

Much more also at the second of the two stories I link to, a story entitled There Are Some Doubts About Gay Girl in Damascus.



PB