Latest news with #DebraTice
Arab News
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Mother of missing journalist Austin Tice reveals newly declassified intelligence
WASHINGTON: The mother of missing American journalist and former US Marine Austin Tice has shared new details from recently declassified intelligence documents, saying the files contain information that could help locate her son. Speaking at a press conference marking 13 years since her son vanished outside Damascus, Debra Tice said the documents suggested that US agencies had near-daily information on his condition and captivity during the years following his disappearance in the Syrian Arab Republic. The files were shared earlier this year by US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard following long-standing requests from the family to access raw intelligence material related to the case. 'When he had something (wrong) about his teeth, they took him to a dentist. When he had some stomach issues, they took him to the doctor,' Debra Tice was quoted as saying in The Washington Post. She did not specify dates or locations. Tice, a freelance journalist covering the Syrian conflict for The Washington Post and other US outlets, was abducted on the outskirts of Damascus in August 2012. A video released shortly after his disappearance showed him blindfolded and held by armed men. US officials have long suspected the Syrian government was behind his disappearance, but Damascus has consistently denied involvement. Debra Tice said she was repeatedly told by officials in past administrations that no new information existed. But she said the files revealed otherwise, reinforcing her belief that her son is alive and can still be found. She alleged that the Syrian government had attempted to return her son shortly after his disappearance by reaching out to then-US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. 'The Syrian government reached out to Hillary Clinton and wanted her to come and get Austin in ... August of 2012, and she declined,' she said, reported The Washington Post. However, the publication quoted former US officials with knowledge of the case denying such an offer was made, saying that the Syrian regime never acknowledged holding Tice and 'vigorously denied any knowledge of Austin right to the end.' US officials have blamed the lack of progress on obstruction by the Bashar Assad regime and the highly secretive nature of Syria's detention network. Since the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024, the CIA has reportedly adopted a 'low confidence' assessment that Tice is likely dead — an evaluation the family strongly rejects. Debra Tice said she remains confident her son is alive and that the release of thousands of detainees from collapsed Syrian prisons has yet to yield any definitive information about his case. The Tice family's access to intelligence files was granted following lobbying efforts. Debra Tice said the newly declassified information had strengthened her resolve to keep pressure on the US authorities to resolve the case. 'We know Austin is alive. We need to find him,' she said. Tice's case remains one of the longest unresolved abductions of an American journalist in the Middle East. Rights groups and press freedom advocates have repeatedly urged the US government to prioritize the search for him and ensure accountability for his captors.
CNN
a day ago
- Politics
- CNN
‘President Trump, it's not too late": Hear Austin Tice's mother plea to Trump 13 years after his disappearance
Debra Tice, the mother of American journalist Austin Tice kidnapped in 2012 near the Syrian capital, joined The Situation Room to discuss the latest on documents she says she was able to review under the Trump administration, offering new intelligence into her son's condition while detained.
Al Bawaba
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
Syria ready to assist in finding missing US citizens
ALBAWABA - A US official revealed to AFP that Syria expressed its willingness to help the American government in locating missing American citizens in Damascus. "The new Syrian government has agreed to assist the USA in locating and returning USA citizens or their remains. The families of Austin Tice, Majd Kamalmaz, and Kayla Mueller must have closure," US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack wrote on X. For instance, US journalist Austin Tice was abducted in Syria while on a reporting trip in 2012. He is one of the longest-held American hostages in the country, BBC reported. Following the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024, the journalist's mother, Debra Tice, travelled to Syria in January 2025 for the first time in over 10 years to search for her missing son. According to the latest US media reports, investigators believe that Austin Tice, who was a former US Marine, briefly escaped weeks after being seized, however, he was likely recaptured by Bashar Assad's forces. Despite some reports claiming that the remains of journalist Austin Tice were found in Syria after over 12 years of searching, his family denied the allegations, stressing that the body remains don't belong to Tice. "We appreciate whatever mission is ongoing to help families of ISIS victims find closure," said a spokesperson for the American journalist's family. "However, an initial and erroneous report that Austin Tice was identified among the remains was quickly and completely contradicted." Nonetheless, Majd Kamalmaz, an American psychologist who was treating refugees in the region from war-torn Syria, disappeared in Syria after he was stopped at a checkpoint in Mezzah city in February 2017.
Washington Post
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Tice family says U.S. had knowledge of Austin's location for years
The U.S. government had specific knowledge of the whereabouts of journalist Austin Tice, who went missing in Syria in 2012, for more than a decade, his mother said on Thursday, suggesting that more could have been done to recover the former Marine than was achieved under three administrations. Debra Tice said her conclusion — including her belief that Austin Tice's location was known up to the time of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's ouster late last year — was based on extensive intelligence records the Trump administration recently permitted her to access. She said the effort to find her son was now much more difficult because, she believed, he had been moved around the time of the Assad regime's sudden collapse at the hands of rebel forces.
Malaysian Reserve
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Malaysian Reserve
Press Freedom Center to host lunch in support of detained journalist Austin Tice as part of slate of World Press Freedom Day events
WASHINGTON, April 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — On Thursday, May 1, Debra Tice, mother of Austin Tice — a journalist abducted in Syria in 2012 and still held captive — will speak about the latest efforts to bring her son home. She will be joined by Matt Murray, the Executive Editor of the Washington Post. The event will take place from 12-1pm. Tickets, which include a banquet lunch, cost $35. It is the first event in a two-day series put on by the Press Freedom Center at the National Press Club in honor of world Press Freedom Day. A link to RSVP and purchase a ticket can be found here. There will be a press area for those who are just covering the event. A full schedule for the Center's World Press Freedom Day events can be found here. Contact: Bill McCarren, Director, Press Freedom Center at the National Press Club202-662-7534 | wmccarren@
