10 years after journalist Austin Tice's abduction in Syria, his family holds out hope for his return
This coming Sunday will mark ten years since freelance journalist Austin Tice was abducted in Syria. Tice's parents believe their son is still alive and are hoping the Biden administration will do more to help free their son.
Tice, who is from Houston and whose work had been featured in The Washington Post and McClatchy newspapers, among other publications, disappeared from a checkpoint west of Damascus on August 14, 2012. A video released shortly afterward showed him being held by armed men.
On Wednesday, President Biden released a statement calling for Tice's immediate return. "We know with certainty that he has been held by the Government of Syria," the statement said. "We have repeatedly asked the government of Syria to work with us so that we can bring Austin home. On the tenth anniversary of his abduction, I am calling on Syria to end this and help us bring him home."
The Syrian government has never acknowledged holding Tice.
"I think that President Biden's made it really clear that there will be engagement with the Syrian government," said Debra Tice, Austin's mother. She said that's a positive development, but it hasn't always been that way.
Read more: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/2022/08/12/430587/ten-years-after-journalist-austin-tices-abduction-in-syria-his-family-holds-out-hope-for-his-return/