The reason your original code did not work is because you are using ;
instead of ,
to split the name/value pairs when you create the dictionary called extras.
Wrong Way:
extras = {'de.devmil.minimaltext.locale.extras.VAR_NAME':"Test" ; "de.devmil.minimaltext.locale.extras.VAR_TEXT" : "Passed"}
Correct Way:
extras = {'de.devmil.minimaltext.locale.extras.VAR_NAME':"Test" , 'de.devmil.minimaltext.locale.extras.VAR_TEXT' : "Passed"}
You can learn more about using dictionaries here: http://www.tutorialspoint.com/python/python_dictionary.htm