On 13 February Syrian human rights defender Mr Mazin Ibrahim Al Qasim was arrested as he was on his way from Damascus to the city of Homs to bring humanitarian medical supplies to victims of human rights violations in the city.

Mazin Ibrahim Al Qasim is a member of the Syrian Human Rights League who has been active in providing humanitarian and emergency medical aid to people in the city of Homs.

In the early hours of the morning of 13 February 2012, Mazin Ibrahim Al Qasim was stopped by Syrian security forces in a patrol car, as he was approaching the city of Homs. He was arrested and his car and the medical supplies he was carrying were confiscated. He was reportedly taken back to Damascus, however his precise whereabouts remain unknown. There are concerns about his safety and it is feared that he may be tortured or ill-treated while held incommunicado.

Mazin Ibrahim Al Qasim had managed three times in the past to provide emergency medical and other humanitarian assistance to the city of Homs. He had been summoned twice in the past by the Syrian authorities to be questioned in connection with his human rights work. The Director of the Syrian Human Rights League, who is currently in exile, managed to flee the country following a period of incommunicado detention in August 2011 during which he was tortured and ill-treated.

Front Line Defenders is concerned about the arrest and incommunicado detention of Mazin Ibrahim Al Qasim, and believes that his arrest and detention are directly related to his human rights work, in particular his involvement in the provision of humanitarian assistance to victims of human rights violations. Front Line Defenders is concerned for his physical and psychological integrity while in detention.