Biden administration officials have “repeatedly pressed” Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government to work with them to release Austin Tice, a journalist and former U.S. Marine held in their custody, President Joe Biden said on Wednesday, renewing his call for Tice’s immediate release.
In a statement to McClatchy, Biden noted that Wednesday “marks 12 long, terrible years since American Austin Tice was abducted in Syria.”
“We have repeatedly pressed the government of Syria to work with us so that we can, at last, bring Austin home. Today, I once again call for his immediate release,” the president said.
“The freedom of the press is essential, and journalists like Austin play a critical role informing the public and holding those in power accountable,” Biden added. “We stand in solidarity with Austin, his family, and all Americans wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad. I will continue to do everything possible to advocate for and pursue his release and support his loved ones until he is safely returned home.”
Tice disappeared in Syria in August 2012 while covering the country’s civil war as a freelance journalist for McClatchy, The Washington Post, and other publications. U.S. officials believe he was detained at a Syrian government checkpoint southwest of Damascus on Aug. 14 of that year. A video emerged six weeks after his disappearance purporting to show him in captivity.
READ MORE: Secret contacts revive the search for Austin Tice, missing for 10 years in Syria
The Biden administration has been successful securing the release of other Americans wrongfully detained abroad by hostile states, including from Russia, Iran and Venezuela. But the Syrian government has consistently refused to discuss the specifics of Tice’s case, frustrating three presidents.
In 2022, Biden met with Tice’s parents at the White House and vowed to engage the Syrians directly over Tice. In a statement at that time, the president expressed “certainty” that Assad had held him in Syrian custody, adding, “I am calling on Syria to end this.”
Through much of 2023, Biden’s team had been hopeful that quiet talks with Damascus could produce a breakthrough in Tice’s case. But Hamas’ attack on Israel in October of that year, and the war that has followed in Gaza, disrupted the discussions. Channels remain open as U.S. officials continue to press the Syrian government for answers, one official said.
Officials from both the Biden administration and the former Trump administration tell McClatchy that intelligence on Tice’s whereabouts and condition — particularly whether he is being held alive or dead — has long been murky, and remains so to this day.
But consecutive administrations have operated on the belief that Tice is alive.
In a statement released Wednesday marking the anniversary of his disappearance, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. government knows “the Syrian government has held Austin, and we have repeatedly offered to find a way to bring him home.”
“This has gone on for far too long. We call on the Syrian government to work with the United States to end Austin’s captivity and to provide an accounting for the fate of other Americans who went missing in Syria,” Blinken said.
“Over the past three and half years our government has secured the release of dozens of Americans held hostage or unjustly detained around the world, and we continue to pursue any available path that may lead to Austin’s return,” Blinken added. “Austin went to Syria to show the world the truth of what was going on there. We’re not going to relent until we find a way to bring Austin’s unjust detention to an end.”
A bipartisan pair of senators, Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, led a letter to the president last week signed by 34 other senators calling on the administration to prioritize Tice’s case and update the Senate on their efforts to bring him home.
READ MORE: A timeline of the efforts to return Austin Tice to the U.S.
“As an American and a veteran, Austin deserves the full and active support of our government to secure his release,” the letter reads. “We ask that you keep us informed of your progress so that the Congress and your Administration can continue working hand in hand on this important issue.”
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