Syria has denied allegations that American journalist Austin Tice remains held in the country a decade on from his disappearance while reporting on the civil war.
Issuing a statement on Wednesday, Syria’s Foreign Ministry said Damascus “denies it had kidnapped or is holding any American citizen on its territories”.
“The US issued last week misleading and illogical statements by the American president and secretary of state that included baseless accusations against Syria that it had kidnapped or detained American citizens including former US Marine Austin Tice,” the statement said.
US President Joe Biden said last week that US intelligence agencies knew “with certainty” that Mr Tice had been held in Syria by the government of President Bashal Al-Assad since going missing in August 2012 while reporting.
“We know with certainty that he has been held by the Government of Syria,” Mr Biden said in his statement marking the 10th anniversary of the journalist’s disappearance. “We have repeatedly asked the government of Syria to work with us so that we can bring Austin home.”
Mr Biden’s remarks were the clearest indication so far that the US is certain Mr Tice is being held by the Assad government, which added on Wednesday that it had never had behind-the-scenes contact with US officials over Mr Tice and that “any official dialogue with the American government will only be public based on the respect of Syria’s sovereignty.”
State Department Spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Tuesday that the Biden administration has “engaged extensively – and that includes directly – with Syrian officials and through third parties” over Mr Tice’s disappearance and that the US government has pushed Syria to return every American missing in the country.
Speaking to reports at a briefing on Wednesday, Mr Price added: ”We believe that Syria has the power to release Austin Tice.”
Recent US efforts to secure Mr Tice’s release or information on his whereabouts have included a high level meeting between Lebanese and US officials in May and a secret visit to Damascus made by two US officials during the final months of the Trump administration.
In May, Mr Biden met Mr Tice‘s parents and reiterated his commitment to working toward the freelance journalist’s and former US Marine’s return home. His work had been published in The Washington Post.
The Houston, Texas, native went missing shortly after his 31st birthday on 14 August 2012 at a checkpoint in Damascus. Shortly after a video appeared online showing Mr Tice walking blindfolded and being held by armed men saying, “Oh, Jesus.” He has not been heard from since.
Additional reporting by the Associated Press
