Following are excerpts from a statement by Abd Al-Basset Sarot, goalkeeper of the Syrian national youth soccer team, which was posted on YouTube on July 10, 2011.
Cameraman: "The city of Homs, July 20, 2011."
Abd Al-Basset Sarot: "In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate. I, Abd Al-Basset Sarot, am a Syrian citizen, and the goalkeeper of the Syrian national youth soccer team and of the Karama club.
"The Syrian regime has accused me of being a Salafi and of planning to establish a Salafi emirate. This accusation was made when we took to the streets, demanding freedom for the Syrian people. I am now wanted by the security agencies, which are trying to arrest me.
"I declare, in sound mind and of my own volition, that we, the free Syrian people, will not back down until our one and only demand is met: the toppling of the regime. We are not Salafis, and there is no truth to the regime's claims about armed groups or a Salafi emirate.
"We've been living as brothers for centuries under the free skies of this nation, despite our different creeds. I hold the Syrian regime responsible for any possible harm done to me.
"Long live free Syria. Long live our proud people that rejects humiliation." […]
