An American citizen, 29-year-old Travis Pete Timmerman from Missouri, was freed on Thursday in the suburbs of Damascus after spending seven months in detention in Syria. His release came a week after rebel forces captured the Syrian capital and toppled the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Timmerman, who had been out of contact since May in Budapest, Hungary, stated that he entered Syria on foot as part of a Christian pilgrimage. In a video released by Syrian media, Timmerman is seen lying on a mattress in what appears to be a private home. A group of men in the footage claims that he was well-treated and would soon be reunited with his family. U.S. officials have acknowledged the situation but refrained from providing further details due to privacy concerns.
According to Timmerman, he was detained after crossing into Syria from Lebanon on foot. He spent seven months in a Syrian prison, most likely the notorious Sednaya Prison, known for its harsh conditions and systematic torture of detainees. While Timmerman mentioned hearing the screams of others being tortured, he emphasized that he was not personally mistreated during his incarceration.
“I was fed, I had water, but the hardest part was not being able to go to the bathroom when I wanted,” he explained. Medical professionals who examined him reported no signs of physical abuse.
Timmerman’s release has raised hopes for the safe return of other foreign nationals still detained in Syria, including American journalist Austin Tice, who vanished in 2012. Multiple sources indicate that Tice is still alive and held by the deposed Syrian government, despite a video released in 2012 showing him in the custody of an armed group.
The FBI has offered a reward of up to $1 million for information that could lead to Tice’s safe return. Mouaz Moustafa, head of the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), a U.S.-based NGO, has arrived in Damascus to coordinate efforts to locate Tice and other American hostages. Washington hopes to bring them home in the coming days.
