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Westin Tice: Hope for Missing Journalist's Return After 12 Years
On, December 12, 2024, activists on social media shared a video showing an American citizen who was found by a guard in the municipality of the town of Dhiyabiah in Damascus. Reports indicate that he is American journalist "Austin Tice," who has been considered missing for 12 years in the regime’s prisons, despite officials claiming on several occasions that he was not in their custody. One of the residents of Dhiyabiah transported him to his home.
American media sources reported that intensive efforts are being made by the United States to recover journalist Austin Tice, who was kidnapped 12 years ago while covering the beginning of the revolutionary movement in Syria. Despite the release of several hundred detainees from Assad’s prisons, Tice's fate remains uncertain.
The "White House" stated that President Joe Biden's administration is holding talks with Turkey and other countries to gather more information about journalist Tice's whereabouts, with Biden affirming that the U.S. government believes he is still alive, emphasizing Washington’s commitment to bringing him home, especially after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's regime.
In the same context, "Debra Tice," the mother of the American journalist, expressed during an interview with Al-Hurra channel that the current circumstances in Syria hinder the search for her son's place of detention. She added that she has information confirming that her son is still alive and she hopes to see him free. With prisons reopening, she hopes that concerned authorities can locate his place of detention and bring him back to the United States.
She also addressed the family's efforts to communicate with actors in the Damascus capital to find Austin and hand him over to U.S. authorities. She pointed out that the time spent searching for her son has taken far too long due to political complications and the interests of concerned parties focusing on other priorities, despite the sacrifices made by Austin.
The "U.S. Department of State" had previously announced a reward of up to $10 million for information about Austin Tice. "Karine Jean-Pierre," the White House spokesperson, confirmed that finding Tice remains a top priority, noting that the FBI and the State Department offer a reward of up to $11 million for useful information.
The U.S. administration mentioned that they "do not know his whereabouts, but hope he is alive" and continue discussions with Turkey and other countries to locate him.
For his part, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller affirmed that the United States has requested assistance from "Hayat Tahrir al-Sham" to pinpoint journalist Tice's location, highlighting the importance of this issue for Washington.
According to human rights sources, the upcoming weeks and months are expected to reveal thousands of crimes committed against detainees in Assad’s prisons, as the releases during the process of liberating all prisons indicate that the returnees represent only a small fraction of documented numbers in prisons, clearly confirming the occurrence of executions buried in mass graves, the details of which will become evident in the coming period.
