The high-level prisoner swap that freed WNBA star Brittney Griner this week has placed a spotlight on another Texan imprisoned abroad, journalist Austin Tice.
Tice, a former U.S. Marine, was abducted in Syria in August 2012 shortly after his 31st birthday. The Houston native disappeared at a checkpoint in a contested area west of Damascus.
A video released a month later showed him blindfolded and held by armed men, saying, “Oh, Jesus.” He has not been heard from since. Syrian officials have repeatedly denied detaining Tice, but President Joe Biden has said “we know with certainty that the Syrian government is holding Tice.”
Tice was working as a freelance investigative journalist for The Washington Post, CBS News and McClatchy newspapers, among other organizations, coverage he’s won numerous accolades for since his abduction. He was set to return to Washington, D.C., to finish his third and final year at Georgetown Law before he went missing.
Earlier this year, Biden met with Tice’s parents and reiterated his commitment to working toward “Austin’s long overdue return to his family.”
On Thursday, Tice’s family applauded Griner’s release while urging the U.S. National Security Council to work with the Syrian government to bring home their son.
“This is more evidence that where there is a will there’s a way for the United States to secure the safe release and return of its unjustly held citizens,” the family said. “God willing, Austin will not spend another Christmas alone in captivity.”
Several elected officials, including Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, echoed the family’s sentiment.
The Sacramento Bee, a McClatchy-owned newspaper, also called for Tice’s immediate release.
“Tice’s courageous service to his country and to journalism, the opaque circumstances of his captivity, and the unfathomably long time elapsed since his disappearance should make his case a priority among priorities.”
