It has been one year since Syrian-Palestinian software developer Bassel Khartabil, also known as Bassel Safadi, disappeared from his prison cell in Syria.

The open-source software developer and blogger has been in the custody of Syrian government authorities since March 2012. In October 2015, Bassel was taken from Adra prison, a civilian facility, to an undisclosed location. His wife, Noura Ghazi, reported that “military police took Bassel from his cell in Adra with a ‘top secret’ sealed order from the Military Field Court.”

On November 12, 2015, Ghazi reported that she was contacted by people who identified themselves as insiders in the Assad government who informed her of the alleged death sentence. Ghazi wrote on Facebook at the time:

إجاني خبر صاعق انو باسل محكوم اعدام وهاد بيعني انو نقلو عالشرطة العسكرية كتير خطير … ما بعرف شي غير هيك وما بعرف اذا تنفذ شي بحقو … يارب نقدر نساعد باسل … يا رب ما يكون فات الاوان عالمحاولات …. كتير خايفين على حياة باسل

I've just gotten disturbing and shocking news that Bassel has been sentenced to death. I think this means that the transfer to military prison was very dangerous. I really don't know other news. May God help him, we hope it's not too late. We are worried sick about his life.

These details on Bassel's location and condition were never confirmed, and no further information has been confirmed since October 2015. This is only the latest chapter in the story of Bassel's imprisonment and disappearance.

A Creative Commons leader in Syria and active in projects like Mozilla Firefox and Wikipedia, Bassel is credited with opening up the Syrian Internet and extending online access and knowledge to the public. According to the European Parliament, his detention is part of Syrian government efforts to restrict access to online communities and stifle freedom of expression in the country.

From March through December 2012, Bassel was held in a military intelligence base in the Kafr Suseh section of Damascus. At the end of 2012, he was transferred to Adra, where he was afforded occasional visits with family.

At Global Voices’ January 2014 Arab Bloggers Meeting in Amman, Jordan, Bassel sent a message from prison to our community:

In 2009, I was honored to have my body and soul with you in Beirut. That meeting taught me a lot and charged me for the next years of civic activism and for the now, with more challenges facing activists, bloggers, and countries. I know for sure that your future is in your hands, and it will be bright since you are still meeting! I'm honored again to have my soul with you in this meeting while my body is still locked in jail. Which doesn't matter since we will win the future.

On 3 October 2016, Ghazi posted a long reflection (below) on the pain she has experienced since his arrest, and in particular, since his disappearance. Her hopes that he is still alive are dwindling.

سنة ، ويا طول السنة ، ما حدا بيعرف كيف عم يمر الليل والنهار عليي غير الله ، نطرت باسل سنة بغيابه بعد ما نطرته 4 سنين باعتقاله ، وكنت مستعدة انطره كل العمر … بس مرت سنة عالغياب ، وما في غير خبر اعدامه يلي تسرب بعد غيابه بشهر … سنة ، الحياة فيها عم تمشي بس انا حياتي واقفة ، واقفة عند باسل ، وباسل ما عم يرجع وكل يوم الامل برجعته عم يتلاشى اكتر … يمكن صار لازم أتعامل مع اختفاء باسل بشكل عقلاني ومنطقي ، كتير قاسي هالحكي ، والاقسى منه شعوري باني ما عاد في شي انتظره ، بس صار لازم واجه الواقع ، واقع انه باسل غايب … التمسك بالامل شي حلو وعظيم ، بس التعلق بالوهم هو مرض خطير ، يمكن صار لازم اقتنع انه مستقبلي ما عاد فيه باسل ، يمكن صار لازم واجه هالواقع بطريقة ما تأذيني أكتر ، بعرف أنه كتير صعب وبشع هالحكي ، بس للأسف هاد هو الوضع السوري يلي أنا وباسل جزء منه …. ما بعرف شو ناطرني ، بس بعرف أنه باسل رح يبقى معشش بقلبي وروحي لآخر لحظة بحياتي …