6 days ago
Leaked files confirm Assad regime held missing US journalist Austin Tice
For over a decade, the fate of American journalist Austin Tice remained one of the most enduring mysteries of the Syrian conflict. Now, previously unseen intelligence documents obtained by the BBC provide the first concrete confirmation that Tice was held by Syrian authorities under the leadership of Bashar Al-Assad.
The classified materials, verified by both the BBC and law enforcement sources, include internal communications between Syrian intelligence branches. They explicitly name Tice and detail aspects of his imprisonment following his 2012 abduction near Damascus. The findings, along with corroborating testimony from former Syrian officials, offer long-sought clarity about what happened to him in the early days of his disappearance.
Tice, a freelance journalist and former US Marine, vanished in August 2012 near Darayya, a suburb of the Syrian capital, just days after turning 31. He had entered the country to report on the escalating civil war. Roughly seven weeks later, a video surfaced online showing Tice blindfolded and reciting an Islamic declaration while surrounded by armed men. Though the clip suggested extremist movements' involvement, US analysts at the time raised doubts about its authenticity, with one official stating the video "may have been staged."
Despite years of speculation, no entity ever claimed responsibility for holding Tice. The Syrian government, under Assad, repeatedly denied having any knowledge of his whereabouts. That narrative has now been definitively challenged.
One of the documents, stamped 'top secret,' places Tice in a government-run detention facility in Damascus in 2012. Sources familiar with the site identified it as Tahouneh prison. A former high-ranking Syrian intelligence officer confirmed to the BBC that Tice was held there by the National Defence Forces (NDF), a pro-Assad paramilitary group.
A Syrian official told the BBC that Tice remained in custody at least until February 2013. During that time, he reportedly suffered from stomach problems and underwent medical treatment, including blood tests that revealed a viral infection. A visitor to the detention center who saw Tice recalled, "He looked sad, and that the joy had gone from his face," though he was said to be treated more humanely than Syrian inmates.
In a rare account, a former NDF member with direct knowledge of Tice's detention said that his captors recognized his strategic value, stating that "Austin's value was understood" and that he was viewed as a "card" for potential diplomatic negotiations with the US.
Tice allegedly made a brief escape attempt by climbing through a window, but was quickly apprehended. He is believed to have been interrogated at least twice by Syrian intelligence.
The BBC's investigation is part of a long-running project that began over a year ago for a Radio 4 podcast. Reporters were granted access to a Syrian intelligence archive while working alongside a Syrian war crimes investigator. The documents they found are the first hard evidence to support long-standing US claims that Tice was in Syrian custody.
When Bashar Al-Assad was deposed in December 2024, former US President Joe Biden expressed belief that Tice was still alive. Two days before, his mother Debra Tice shared that a 'significant source' had confirmed her son's survival and claimed he was being 'treated well.' Yet, when prisons across Syria were emptied following the regime's collapse, Tice was not among those released, and his current whereabouts remain unknown.
The Tice family, who have led a relentless campaign for answers, are aware of the newly surfaced files, as are US officials and a Syrian group documenting human rights abuses under Assad. Tice, who once served in Iraq and Afghanistan before pursuing a law degree at Georgetown University, is now believed to be one of the longest-held American hostages.
According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, around 100,000 people were forcibly disappeared during Assad's rule. Tice's case, long marked by silence and uncertainty, now stands as a confirmed chapter in that broader tragedy.
