Residents of the suburbs of Damascus found US citizen Travis Timmerman today, Thursday, December 12, after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the opening of the detention centers and prisons by Syrian opposition factions.
The American network “CBS” reported that Travis Timmerman, born in Missouri, was released earlier this week after al-Assad was forced to flee due to a surprise attack by the opposition.
Timmerman told a CBS reporter that he was trying to leave Syria on his own after being released from prison, where he had been held for more than a year and a half.
He added that he was arrested upon entering Syria without permission seven months ago after spending a month in Lebanon.
According to Timmerman, two men armed with Kalashnikov rifles broke down his prison door with a hammer last Monday.
“My door was busted down, it woke me up,” Timmerman said. “I thought the guards were still there, so I thought the warfare could have been more active than it ended up being… Once we got out, there was no resistance, there was no real fighting.”
He explained that he left the prison with a large group of prisoners and began to walk away, trying to head to Jordan, stating that he experienced moments of fear when he left the prison and did not grasp that he was free.
He said he was not afraid to approach people to ask for help or a place to sleep at night during his journey. Timmerman noted that he spoke with his family three weeks ago using a phone that he had while in prison, which he was allowed to use.
“I’m feeling well. I’ve been fed and I’ve been watered, so I’m feeling well,” he said.
After videos of the US citizen spread, media outlets circulated news that he was the American journalist detained by the regime, Austin Tice, although the citizen released from prison is still young, while the regime arrested Tice 12 years ago, when he was 41 years old, meaning he is currently 53.
On December 10, the United States asked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) for help in locating the missing American journalist in Syria, Austin Tice, and securing his release during the prison liberation operation in the country following the ousting of Bashar al-Assad, according to Reuters.
White House spokesperson John Kirby said that American officials are doing their utmost to gather as much information as possible about Austin Tice.
Kirby added that the situation in Syria could provide an opportunity to gather more information about the American journalist, his whereabouts, and condition, adding that US officials assume he is alive and have no information to the contrary.
The US State Department also announced a monetary reward of up to ten million dollars for information about Austin Tice.
The US Rewards for Justice program called on everyone to help find Austin Tice, who disappeared in Syria in 2012.