Syria - Austin Tice, 31, American Journalist, kidnapped, Damascus, 14 Aug 2012

[dotr]

2021
By Adam Goldman and Julian E. Barnes
Biden Administration Hopes to Learn Fate of U.S. Hostage in Syria - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
''The kidnapping of Mr. Tice, a journalist covering the Syrian war who was abducted in a Damascus suburb and is one of the longest-held American hostages abroad, has been an enduring frustration for government officials.

They had found glimpses of hope over the years. Mr. Tice briefly escaped captivity shortly after he was kidnapped, according to two people familiar with the episode — but he was recaptured. And during the Obama administration, the C.I.A. obtained a tantalizing piece of information: a Syrian document indicating that its government had been holding Mr. Tice.

Former officials described it as a type of judicial form, possibly showing a prisoner or arrest number. It is not clear whether the United States or its proxies ever confronted Syrian officials with the document''

 

[imstilla.grandma]

American journalist Austin Tice has been missing in Syria for 10 years. His family from Texas advocates tirelessly to bring him home. VOA’s Sirwan Kajjo has more.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

US knows 'with certainty' Syria is holding journalist Austin Tice a decade after disappearance, Joe Biden says

 

[Iknewit80]

McClatchy, the U.S. newspaper company for which the journalist had been freelancing, among others, said this week that a multinational effort to free Mr. Tice is showing signs of revival and that there had been direct contacts between the U.S. and Syrian governments.

 

[Iknewit80]

The Syrian government on Wednesday denied it is holding or has any information on the whereabouts of Austin Tice

 

[dotr]

Aug 17 2022

 

[PommyMommy]

Austin Tice was detained in Damascus, Syria, 12 years ago. The #FBI is committed to bringing Austin home and continues to seek information leading to his return. You can find more information about Austin at https://fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/austin-bennett-tice

https://twitter.com/x/status/1823419954202316979

 

[sds71]

Austin Tice's mother just said they have a source that has been vetted by the US govt that Tice is alive and has been treated well

https://twitter.com/x/status/1865119074910363947

https://twitter.com/x/status/1865119670673781237

 

[Unalienable Rights]

The Austin Tice Family website:

Home - The Family of Austin Tice

www.austinticefamily.com

Articles dated December 6, 2024:

Austin Tice, Journalist Kidnapped in Syria 12 Years Ago, Is Alive and ‘Well,’ His Mother Claims After Recent Report

The family of Austin Tice, the American journalist kidnapped in Syria over 12 years ago, spoke at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. on Friday, Dec. 6, saying a "significant source" confirmed their son is alive.

people.com

Family of Austin Tice says 'a significant source' indicates he is alive, being 'treated well'

The government has continuously operated under the assumption that, despite his lengthy captivity and limited intelligence about his whereabouts, Tice is still alive.

abcnews.go.com

Austin Tice, journalist kidnapped in Syria, believed to be alive and well, his family says

"We have from a significant source that has already been vetted all over our government, Austin Tice is alive, Austin Tice is treated well," his mother said.

www.cbsnews.com

Family press conference, December 6, 2024

 

[PommyMommy]

DEC 8, 2024

Austin Tice's family, journalist captured in Syria in 2012, says new info points to him being alive

Austin Tice's family says sources vetted by the US government say the Houston journalist and Marine could be alive after he was captured west of Damascus in 2012.

abc13.com

The family of Austin Tice, a Houston native and Marine veteran, who was captured by Syrian forces a decade ago, said they are waiting to see what unfolds after new information revealed that he may still be alive.

Tice's parents, Debra and Marc, spoke at the White House on Friday. They remained tight-lipped about who the sources were but said they were vetted by the US government.

 

[tarabull]

Mother of Austin Tice, journalist missing in Syria since 2012, says new information proves her son's alive

The mother of Austin Tice is confident her son is alive, citing information from a “significant source” that she did not identify but said had been vetted by the U.S. government and treated as credible.

www.ctvnews.ca

 

[PommyMommy]

DEC 9, 2024

https://www.wboy.com/news/national/us-journalist-austin-tice-who-disappeared-in-syria-in-2012-believed-to-be-alive-biden/

President Joe Biden said Sunday that the U.S. government believes missing American journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared 12 years ago near the Syrian capital, is alive and that Washington is committed to bringing him home after Bashar Assad’s ouster from power in Damascus.

“We think we can get him back,” Biden told reporters at the White House, while acknowledging that “we have no direct evidence” of his status. “Assad should be held accountable.”

 

[PommyMommy]

Parents of Austin Tice, missing journalist in Syria, hopeful after government collapse​

 

[sds71]

Ahmad, who has never before spoken about Tice for fear of reprisal from the Assad regime, has gone public with the information after the fall of the Syrian government. He was released from custody in July 2022 and has since moved to the United Arab Emirates.

Ahmad believes Tice was held alone in a cell. He said he saw him a few times, “when he was allowed out to the main corridor for exercise or on his way to be tortured”.

When The Times sent Ahmad a photo of Tice dated from before his capture, Ahmad said it was the same man he saw in detention, “but his condition was a little worse”.

Ahmad described Tice as having his head shaved, with ragged clothes and looking in poor shape, but suffering no significant medical issues. “Health-wise, he did not suffer from any diseases,” he said. “The doctor came regularly to conduct medical examinations of all the detainees. Foreigners were generally treated much better than Syrians.”

I was in the same Syrian prison as Austin Tice. He was very much alive

Saher al-Ahmad, held captive in Damascus until 2022 by the Assad regime, offers new information on American who disappeared 12 years ago

www.thetimes.com

 

[Unalienable Rights]

Syria's new leadership blames Assad for anguish of Austin Tice's family as search continues

“We hold Bashar al-Assad and his criminal regime accountable for the consequences of Austin’s disappearance and the pain inflicted on his mother — pain, tears and separation," a spokesman told NBC News.

www.nbcnews.com

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria's new leadership says it holds ousted President Bashar al-Assad responsible for the "pain inflicted" for years on the family of Austin Tice as the search goes on for the American journalist who went missing in the country more than a decade ago while he was reporting on the Syrian civil war.

“We hold Bashar al-Assad and his criminal regime accountable for the consequences of Austin’s disappearance and the pain inflicted on his mother — pain, tears and separation," Obaida Al-Arnaot, official spokesperson and head of the political affairs department of Syria’s interim government, said in an interview Wednesday.

More at link.

 

[PommyMommy]

DEC 13, 2024

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/search-us-journalist-austin-tice-clue-11-years-ago-2024-12-13/

In the early days of 2013, an American man, dressed in ragged clothing, dodged between houses in the streets of Damascus’ upscale Mazzeh neighborhood looking for a civilian to take him to safety ...

... A former Marine, he had managed to slip out of his cell, one current and three former U.S. officials and a person with knowledge of the event told Reuters. All were granted anonymity to speak freely about sensitive U.S. intelligence.

When Tice escaped, he was spotted by people living in the Mazzeh neighborhood, wandering the street. He entered the house of a well-known Syrian family, the name of which is being withheld for security reasons, a person familiar with the escape said. Tice was recaptured soon after his escape, one current and one former U.S. official said.

 

[PommyMommy]

DEC 13, 2024

New information discovered in search for American missing in Syria

Austin Tice appeared to be in “somewhat good” condition in 2022, said an activist and citizen journalist who said he had been jailed with Tice.

www.nbcnews.com

Sahar al-Ahmad said he was in the cell across from Tice and last saw him alive in July 2022.

“I saw him twice. On one occasion I stole a glance while he was walking and exercising,” Ahmad said in an interview Thursday, adding that he never spoke with Tice.

Tice's cell was designed for two, but is unclear if he was held alone or forced to share with other prisoners.

 

[Iknewit80]

DEC 13, 2024

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/search-us-journalist-austin-tice-clue-11-years-ago-2024-12-13/

In the early days of 2013, an American man, dressed in ragged clothing, dodged between houses in the streets of Damascus’ upscale Mazzeh neighborhood looking for a civilian to take him to safety ...

... A former Marine, he had managed to slip out of his cell, one current and three former U.S. officials and a person with knowledge of the event told Reuters. All were granted anonymity to speak freely about sensitive U.S. intelligence.

When Tice escaped, he was spotted by people living in the Mazzeh neighborhood, wandering the street. He entered the house of a well-known Syrian family, the name of which is being withheld for security reasons, a person familiar with the escape said. Tice was recaptured soon after his escape, one current and one former U.S. official said.

Imagine surviving a Syrian prison all those years, just to be killed by an Israeli airstrike when you're that close to being freed.

 

[PommyMommy]

DEC 17, 2024

For Years, U.S. Collected Tips About Austin Tice’s Disappearance in Syria

Nongovernmental workers and journalists have scoured prisons for clues about his fate in the absence of an official American presence in the country.

www.nytimes.com

For years, the United States has collected tips about the whereabouts of Austin Tice, an American journalist who was abducted in Syria in 2012, briefly escaped and then vanished in that country’s gruesome prison system.

The list is long. A notorious security complex known as Branch 235, or Palestine Branch, where he was possibly held in solitary confinement. Sednaya prison’s Wing C. An underground facility in Latakia Province. Some of the most recent information about Mr. Tice indicated that he was in the basement of a Syrian Air Force Intelligence building.

 

[Unalienable Rights]

Mother of missing U.S. reporter Austin Tice asks Putin for help in finding her son

“The current situation in Syria compels us to ask for your help in find Austin and safely reuniting our family,” wrote Debra Tice, whose son went missing in Syria in 2012.

www.nbcnews.com

The mother of U.S. journalist Austin Tice sent Russian President Vladimir Putin a letter late Wednesday asking for his help in finding her son, who went missing in Syria a dozen years ago.

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NBC News obtained a copy of the letter just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured Debra Tice that Israel would not conduct airstrikes near a secret prison outside Damascus where she believed her son may have been held.

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Assad's sudden downfall raised the Tice family's hopes that the missing journalist might be in Mt. Qasioun prison, which is under a military museum and has a hidden tunnel that has not been fully explored.

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