It was in August 2012, ten years ago, that the American journalist was kidnapped in Syria.
According to US President Joe Biden, Tice is still alive and he accuses the Syrian government of keeping the journalist trapped in its custody.
– We know for sure that he is being held prisoner by the Syrian government, says the president in one statement from the White House.
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According to The Guardian In May 2012, Tice went to Turkey, and further into Syria, to cover the war in Syria as a freelance journalist. He managed to stay there for 83 days before he was detained in a regime-controlled area on the outskirts of Damascus.
Tice, who hails from Houston, Texas, was kidnapped in Damascus on August 14, 2012.
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Five weeks after he was kidnapped, a video appeared on YouTube, in which several armed men could be seen leading Tice, blindfolded, up a hill, while he recited a prayer in Arabic.
VIDEO: Screenshot of the video posted by Austin Tice five weeks after he was kidnapped. Photo: AFP PHOTO / HO / Youtube/NTB
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When the video was published, spokeswoman Victoria Nuland for the US State Department stated that they did not have the opportunity to confirm whether it is him, whether the video shows something that actually happened or whether it is directed.
Since then there have been no signs of life from the journalist, and since no terrorist organization has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, there are several who fear that he has been killed.
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Therefore, the news comes as a shock to many, who for years have feared the worst, that Joe Biden says that Tice is “certainly” still alive.
– We have repeatedly tried to get the government of Syria to cooperate with us so that we can get Austin home. On the tenth anniversary of his kidnapping, I call on Syria to help us bring him home, said the statement from President Biden.
PARENTS: The parents of Austin Tice, Marc and Debra Tice, at a press conference in Lebanon in 2018. Photo: AP Photo/Bilal Hussein/NTB
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– Deserves an answer
Biden refers to Tice as a son, a “son, brother and an investigative journalist who put the truth before himself” by covering the consequences of the war in Syria.
– Austin Tice’s family deserves answers, and more importantly they deserve to be reunited with Austin as soon as possible. We stand with Austin’s loved ones and we will not rest until we get Austin home. Ten years is all, far too long. The same is true every day that follows, says Biden.
