CAIRO: Google`s Executive Manager of Marketing for the MENA region, Wael Ghonim, who is also a prominent blogger, has not been heard from since last Thursday night, as his friends and family told media and human rights organizations, saying that Ghonim had arrived in Cairo earlier last week for a conference. “We can confirm that a Googler, Wael Ghonim, is missing in Egypt,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement. “He has not been seen since late Thursday evening in central Cairo. “The safety of our employees is very important to Google, so if anyone has any information please call the following UK number: +44 20 7031 3008.” he added. Last Thursday, Ghonim — who tweets at @ghonim — posted the following ominous message on Twitter. “Pray for Egypt. Very worried as it seems that government is planning a war crime tomorrow against people. We are all ready to die,” he wrote. Earlier, Ghonim had tweeted that he was from Egypt, but the company declined to confirm that, citing employee privacy. There was chatter on Twitter that Ghonim had been seized by Egyptian police and dragged away, but those reports have not been confirmed. Among the “People Who Inspire Wael” on his Facebook profile is Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei. Ghonim was also the administrator of the Khaled Said page on Facebook, which called – along with both groups of 6th of April movement and the National Campaign for supporting Baradei – for staging the massive rallies to overthrow the Egyptian Regime. Al-Dostour newspaper reported, without revealing its sources, that security services may have kidnapped Ghonaim last Thursday, or he may have been killed as a result of the brutal crackdown by the police last Friday. BM
