Missing US journalist’s mother renews Syria search

The mother of US journalist Austin Tice, who was kidnapped in Syria while on a reporting trip in 2012 and one of America’s longest-running hostages, has returned to the country for the first time in a decade to resume the search for her son.

Debra Tice’s visit comes after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in a terrorist attack last month. His son, a freelance journalist who is now 43, was taken captive while he was traveling through the Damascus suburb of Darayya covering the Syrian civil war.

“We had information, but the whole world changed,” he said in an interview in the Syrian capital, Damascus, referring to Assad’s removal from power.

“We don’t know where he is now. It sounds like a big deal, trying to figure it out.”

Tice was last seen in a video posted online weeks after his arrest, blindfolded and distraught. No government or group has claimed responsibility for his disappearance, although for years, US officials have said they believe Tice is being held by the Assad regime.

According to recent US media reports, investigators believe that Tice, a former US Marine, briefly escaped a few weeks after his capture but was recaptured by forces that answer directly to Assad.

Last month, after rebels led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) overthrew Assad and seized power, President Joe Biden said the US believed Tice was alive, but his whereabouts were unknown. The rebels opened up Syrian prisons, freeing thousands of people and giving experts access to documents that could shed light on what happened to Tice and other missing persons.

“I never had a moment of doubt… I always knew [Tice] they will walk freely. And, you know, we have a new way of thinking about how to do that,” he said. [him].”

On Sunday, Debra Tice – who said she wears a “Free Austin Tice” badge even at home – met with Ahmed al-Sharaa, the Syrian president, who vowed to answer those who committed the most serious crimes in the Assad regime. .

He added that he hoped the families would continue to find places where prisoners were held “to allow people to investigate and have hope”.

“I’m here to be with people who understand the longing, to be able to celebrate with people who are reunited, and to touch the hearts of those of us who continue to search and hope and wish and hope and pray.”

He last visited Syria in 2015, when the country’s authorities stopped issuing him permits. Now, he said, “people are more relaxed” and “children have smiles on their faces”.

“I want to be one of those mothers, one of those families who find my loved one and hug him and take him home,” she said.