Who is Amina?

Tarek Amr has kindly informed me that questions about Syrian blogger Amina's identity surfaced - as of yet, no one could get hold of any of her relatives or even confirm her being born in the United States. The photo of "Amina" used by news agencies so far turned out to be one of a British citizen who must now fear extremist attacks on the assumption that she was a high-profile lesbian. The Free Amina Abdalla page on Facebook has issued the following statement:

Amina's story has raised awareness about the human rights abuses occurring every day in Syria.  It is important that people continue to voice support for the many, many political prisoners held by the Syrian authorities. Their stories need to be told and remembered. Over 10,000 people have been detained by authorities within the last few months.Questions about Amina's identity have surfaced on the internet. Reporters and the US Embassy have been unable to verify her identity. At the time this site was created, there was no reason to doubt the authenticity of the story. We want to be clear that the administrators of this site cannot verify her identity.However, we think it is possible that the writer of the blog is indeed in custody, in which case, it is important to continue to support her.  Many people in Syria are forced to use alternative virtual identities to protect themselves.We hope she is safe and that we will read her words again soon.