“To the people from the Secret Service and State Security, allow me the following remark: if you don’t like what I say and want to arrest me, send me a message and I’ll give you my complete address. Then you can continue the dialogue however you want .” Those words concluded the last entry in Hussein Ghrer’s blog. A good three months later, on October 24th, he disappeared without a trace.

The 32-year old IT engineer became active online in 2007. He started his blog (ghrer.net) in 2008, writing critically about the country’s political and social situation. Ghrer participated in DW-AKADEMIE’s Young Media Summit (YMS) held in Cairo in May. The conference on new media and reform in the Arab world brought together well-known bloggers from eight Arab countries and Germany.

“Hussein Ghrer called for justice, the rule of law and democratic reforms in Syria,” says Jens-Uwe Rahe, DW-AKADEMIE project manager for the YMS. “His used a moderate and constructive tone. If he was afraid of reprisals he didn’t show it. But he did want to protect his family.” Most bloggers in Syria use a pseudonym. Ghrer didn’t. “He was aware of the dangers,” writes Christoph Sydow, a German blogger who attended the YMS in Cairo and who has written about Hussein Ghrer’s arrest.

Although Ghrer was missing for several days, his wife has since been able to contact him. In an email to DW-AKADEMIE she wrote, “Hussein is doing well under the circumstances. They have promised to release him soon.” National and international pressure on Syrian leader Bashir al-Assad is increasing, but the Damascus regime is relentless in attempts to silence critics. The United Nations estimates that more than 3,500 demonstrators have been killed since the unrest began. There is no independent reporting, and the country is currently almost completely closed to foreign journalists.