Australian Zara Kay, campaigner for ex-Muslim women, left 'traumatised' by arrest in Tanzania over social media post

[NonnyMouse1337]

What a scary and intimidating experience.

amp.abc.net.au/article/13029666

Ms Kay is the founder of Faithless Hijabi, an organisation which supports women who have been abused for leaving Islam and, while she was born in Tanzania, she is also an Australian citizen.

It is understood Ms Kay has been charged for not handing in her Tanzanian passport when she received Australian citizenship, and over a social media post she made in May 2020.

women who left Islam were usually subject to significant abuse and persecution.

"The majority of our visibility is to give hope and encouragement to a lot of people who we support in our various organisations, and when something like this happens it really absolutely pushes ex-Muslims back into the closet and not even be able to dare say 'I don't believe',"

Statement from Faithless Hijabi lists the exact charges - www.faithlesshijabi.org/justiceforzarakay/

The charges against her are:

1. Social media posts deemed to be critical of the president of Tanzania (these light satirical posts were posted in May when Zara was in London, addressing the handling of Covid-19 in Tanzania)
2. Not returning her Tanzanian passport after gaining Australian citizenship (she never returned her Tanzanian passport as she misplaced and never used it after gaining Australian citizenship)
3. Using a SIM-card not registered in her name (this was registered in a family member’s name). Failure to register SIM-cards legislation has been used to persecute other high-profile cases.

That's shocking - have the Australian authorities / media made any comment on this case?

@MyOwnSummer

That's shocking - have the Australian authorities / media made any comment on this case?

According to the article they aren't saying much at the moment. Guess there will be legal stuff involved in the background.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) spokesperson has confirmed consular assistance is being provided to the Australian passport holder.

"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to an Australian in Tanzania," they said.

"Owing to our privacy obligations we will not provide further comment."

I've just spotted the most recent update on her.

www.ex-muslim.org.uk/2021/01/update-number-3-tanzania-drop-all-charges-against-zara-kay/

Zara Kay, an Australian citizen and founder of Faithless Hijabi, returned to Dar es-Salaam Oysterbay Police station on 5 January. Her lawyer confirmed that she was then transferred to the Immigration Department.

According to local sources, she returned once more to the police station on 6 January and is awaiting a court hearing.

From the original three charges against her: social media posts critical of the government (posted in May when Zara was in London, satirically addressing the handling of Covid-19 in Tanzania), use of a SIM card belonging to a family member (a charge which has been used to persecute other high profile cases), and not returning her Tanzanian passport after gaining Australian citizenship, the authorities appear to be focusing on the latter. Tanzanian police chief Simon Sirro informed the press that Zara is now being questioned over her citizenship status only.

As previously reported, Zara has not used her Tanzanian passport since she obtained Australian citizenship in 2018. She never returned her Tanzanian passport because it was misplaced. In any case, Tanzanian passports like hers have been invalid for over a year. She entered Tanzania with her Australian passport in September 2020 on a valid visa, which was extended to January 20, 2021.

We have reason to believe charges against Zara are politically-motivated and initiated by those from the Khoja Shia Ithnasheri Jamaat who have threatened Zara with death for leaving Islam and for her activism in support of ex-Muslims and women.

The International Coalition of Ex-Muslims urges the public to continue to defend Zara Kay until all the charges are dropped, her Australian passport is returned to her and she is allowed to leave Tanzania. Please also contact Australian embassies in countries of residence urging them to immediately intervene on behalf of Zara and get her home safe.