An American freed in Syria on Thursday mentioned he was on a Christian pilgrimage when he crossed into the nation on foot seven months in the past and was detained by the Bashar al-Assad regime.
Travis Timmerman was first seen in video that emerged on-line Thursday after rebels seized the capital Damascus and overthrew Assad over the weekend.
Within the video, a bearded Timmerman was mendacity on a mattress beneath a blanket in what gave the impression to be a personal home. A gaggle of males within the video mentioned he was being handled effectively and could be safely returned dwelling, The Related Press reported.
Some who considered the video initially believed Timmerman was Austin Tice, an American journalist and Marine veteran who disappeared in Syria 12 years in the past. Tice stays lacking as of Thursday morning, although U.S. officers have mentioned they consider he’s nonetheless alive.
ISRAEL’S UN AMBASSADOR INSISTS NATION IS ‘NOT GETTING INVOLVED’ IN SYRIAN REGIME CHANGE
Timmerman later told the Al-Arabiya TV network throughout an interview that he was detained after illegally crossing into Syria on foot from the jap Lebanese city of Zahle seven months in the past.
He mentioned the guards handled him effectively in detention however may hear others, who he believed have been younger males, being tortured each day.
“It was OK. I used to be fed. I used to be watered. The one problem was that I couldn’t go to the lavatory after I needed to,” he mentioned, noting that guards solely let him out 3 times a day.
Hundreds of individuals have been free of the Saydnaya army jail, simply north of Damascus, Syria, after rebels overthrew the Bashar al-Assad regime on Sunday. The notorious jail is called the “human slaughterhouse.” (AP Picture/Hussein Malla)
“I used to be not crushed and the guards handled me decently,” he added.
U.S. officers didn’t instantly touch upon Timmerman.
HERE IS WHO IS VYING FOR POWER IN SYRIA AFTER THE FALL OF BASHAR AL-ASSAD
In the meantime, the Biden administration despatched the U.S. authorities’s prime hostage negotiator, Roger Carstens, to Lebanon earlier this week in hopes of gathering data on the whereabouts of Tice.
The State Division’s Reward for Justice program is providing $10 million for data regarding finding Austin Tice. (The State Division’s Reward for Justice)
Tice was detained in Damascus in August 2012 whereas reporting on the rebellion towards the Assad regime, which marked the early levels of the Syrian civil battle.
Tice was final seen in video that emerged weeks after his disappearance, displaying him blindfolded and held by armed males and saying, “Oh, Jesus.”
The Related Press contributed to this report.
Source link
