UK worried over capture of prominent Homs media activist

The British foreign secretary is very worried about the welfare of the head of the Media Center in Homs after he was reportedly captured by Syrian forces, a statement from the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office said over the weekend. “I am very concerned by reports that Ali Mahmoud Othman, the head of the Media Centre in Homs where Marie Colvin, Paul Conroy and other journalists were based, has been captured by the Syrian regime,” British Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement released Saturday, adding that there are also reports that some of Othman’s colleagues have been detained as well. It is unclear of the whereabouts of Othman, but Hague said he had already heard reports that the Homs media coordinator had been tortured. The foreign secretary called on the Syrian authorities to release Othman and other political prisoners immediately. “The Syrian regime will be held responsible for Mr. Othman’s safety and his treatment and I will raise his case in Istanbul at the Friends of Syria meeting...” he promised. “In Istanbul we will take steps to increase the pressure on the regime to carry out these steps and ensure that those responsible for the violence are held to account.” British ambassador to Lebanon Tom Fletcher wrote on his Twitter account Monday morning, “We’re calling for release of Ali Mahmoud Othman, Head of Media Centre #Homs. Courage cannot be ‘disappeared.’”