1.944044-2117594943
A handout picture from the Syrian Centre for Media and Free Expression dated May 26, 2011, shows Syrian blogger Razan Gazzawi at an undisclosed location. Gazzawi was arrested on Deember 5, 2011 at the Syrian border with Jordan as she headed to Amman to take part in a workshop on press freedom in the Arab world, activists said. Image Credit: AFP

Nicosia: Syrian authorities on Monday arrested blogger Razan Gazzawi at the border with Jordan as she headed to Amman to take part in a workshop on press freedom in the Arab world, activists said.

The Syrian Centre for Media and Free Expression called for the release of Gazzawi, who was to represent the group at the forum, and for the authorities to halt "the repression of bloggers and journalists" in Syria.

Gazzawi has since 2009 run her own blog, Razaniayat.

Social networking sites have played a key role in mobilising the anti-regime protests which have swept Syria since mid-March.

More than 4,000 people have been killed, according to the United Nations, in Syria's crackdown on dissent.

Foreign journalists are mostly banned from covering the unrest, leaving the international media dependent on reports from activists and videos on YouTube and other Internet sites, posted at the risk of arrest.