U.S. president calls for immediate release of Austin Tice
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – U.S. President Joe Biden called on Wednesday for the immediate release of Austin Tice, a former U.S. Marine and a freelance journalist who was kidnapped in Syria in August 2012.
“We have repeatedly pressed the government of Syria to work with us so that we can, at last, bring Austin home,” Biden said in the statement marking 12 years since Tice’s abduction. “Today, I once again call for his immediate release.”
Austin Tice was abducted in August 2012 while covering anti-government protests in Damascus. The Syrian government has denied any knowledge of his whereabouts or involvement in his abduction.
In a press release, the U.S. Department of State said, “We know the Syrian government has held Austin, and we have repeatedly offered to find a way to bring him home.”
“We call on the Syrian government to work with the United States to end Austin’s captivity and to provide an accounting for the fate of other Americans who went missing in Syria,” the release read.
The Statement Department added that Austin went to Syria “to show the world the truth of what was going on there,” in reference to the anti-government protests.
“We’re not going to relent until we find a way to bring Austin’s unjust detention to an end,” the press release concluded.