Diz on Front Page of BBC News
Last week, the Petition to Free Diz went around the blogosphere. You saw it on LiveJournal, you saw it on MySpace and Facebook, you saw it on Warren Ellis, Lithium Picnic, YouTube. People went out of their way to help Diz, and many were kind enough to even post it in places where it was totally off-topic – thanks, steamfashion LJ community! Thank you all for your willingness to pause your regular programming to help us spread the word. Hopefully everyone reading this will have signed the petition at this point, but if not, please do so now!
The bad news is that Diz is still not out; you can read about his most current status here (scroll down). The good news is that, thanks to everyone’s efforts in keeping this story going, the story has exploded all over the mainstream press. We are not letting this go, and the world outside of our circle is starting to take notice; both in the European and the Middle East.
Mildred has posted a comprehensive list of places where the story has appeared, and here are some highlights:
Two choice excerpts about the situation:
“Cat sad he’s psychologically preparing for 3-6 months and added it’s obviously not how he intended to start 2008, but he’s very much focused on moving on with the rest of his life. He said there are many in the facility who have given up hope, some have even accepted this is their life and don’t even want to get out of bed. He said he’s become a bit of a counselor to the others and keeps their spirits high, motivates them etc., quite the Anthony Robbins of the detention center” – friend who visited Diz in jail
“What could Dubai possibly have to gain, either financially or in reputation, by prosecuting innocent people? We’re hearing from a number of sources that police officials are given rewards in return for prosecutions, as part of the new crackdown on drugs in Dubai. This is a difficult thing to prove, as it’s obviously quite cloak and dagger, but would account for why travelers are being singled out and prosecuted for seemingly nothing.” – Mil’s latest update
Thank you again for raising awareness of this issue. Hopefully, thanks to your efforts, he’ll be out soon!
