Peaceful protest leader in Syria disappears; Islamist rebels suspected of role
Source: Washington Post
BEIRUT — One of the most prominent figures in the peaceful protest movement that swept Syria early in the country’s uprising was reported missing Tuesday from a rebel-controlled suburb of Damascus, prompting suspicions that she is among the scores of civilian activists and journalists who have been detained by Islamist extremists in recent months.
The apparent targeting of a woman so closely associated with the peaceful origins of the revolt ricocheted through the already demoralized activist community, drawing condemnations on Twitter and Facebook, as well as soul-searching.
“Razan’s kidnapping is like the slap in the face we need to wake up and acknowledge what this conflict has become,” said Rami Nakhla, an LCC co-founder who now lives in Istanbul. “It’s become a regional sectarian war using the cover of our legitimate demands for democracy — a giant, bloody monster.”
Most recently, Zaitouneh had been working for another project she founded, the Violations Documentation Center, which catalogues the tens of thousands of deaths and disappearances in Syria’s war. The threats against her began after she started investigating abuses by rebels, colleagues said.
Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/peaceful-protest-leader-in-syria-disappears-islamist-rebels-suspected-of-role/2013/12/10/8d1e3364-61d0-11e3-a7b4-4a75ebc432ab_story.html?tid=hpModule_04941f10-8a79-11e2-98d9-3012c1cd8d1e
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