Ahsraf Fayah is a Palestinian Poet, sentenced to death by the Saudi Arabian authorities for allegedly insulting Islam, for the crime of apostasy. Sentenced to death by beheading for expressing a thought ,, but this celebrated poet was basically using his freedom of expression to express his feelings about his identity as a Palestinian, ( his family came from Gaza, even though he was born in Saudi Arabia ) and for sharing his cultural and philosophical ideas in a 2008 book called Instructions Within . Saudi Arabia again disregarding human rights and the rule of law.
Poets and artists across the world have been speaking out, writing poems, signing petitions, calling for his release and acquital in acts of solidarity. A worldwide reading of his own work took place on January 14th.
Here is a kink to a petiton by Amnesty International on his behalf, followed by a poem of mine dedicated to him.
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/free-ashraf-fayedh-saudi-arabia-palestinian-poetry-apostasy-execution
Suppression of thought
A distant voice,
shared free expression,
now confined,
by chains of oppression,
longing like a dove to fly away,
beyond the strains of prison walls,
release thoughts that are still unsaid,
a poetic voice, for whom we now plead.
Each word that is silenced,
is part of us, in pieces,
struggling to be heard,
carrying freedoms breath,
untold wonders of feeling,
Asraf carries a knowledge of life,
that may surpass anything we could attain,
words are often open to interpretation,
this is the gift of communication,
should not be lost in the silence of time,
let hope share it's light,
the wish of deliverence ,
from dark captivity,
released from suppression,
verses to be freed, put to paper,
to be granted the ability to breathe again.
above poem posted on I am not a silent poet blog :-
https://iamnotasilentpoet.wordpress.com/2016/01/20/suppression-of-thought-by-dave-rendle
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