USA: Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva are free, but where is Austin Tice?
In the wake of the long-awaited return of two American journalists wrongly detained in Russia, the American government and people must not forget about Austin Tice, the journalist held captive in Syria since 2012. August 14 marks 12 long years of detention for Tice. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges the Biden Administration to redouble efforts to secure Tice’s release, just as it did for Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva.
The release of Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) journalist Alsu Kurmasheva on August 1 in a prisoner swap negotiated among Russia and several countries, including the United States, was a significant political achievement, signaling the U.S. government’s seriousness about supporting its citizens targeted abroad. RSF welcomes the efforts of the Biden Administration and the many U.S. government officials involved in securing the journalists’ release. Nevertheless, American freelance journalist Austin Tice has been missing for 12 years since being taken hostage near Damascus, and is presumed to still be held in Syria. There have been few signs of progress towards his release, and to date the Syrian regime has not confirmed his detention.
“The Biden Administration deserves credit for its success in bringing Alsu Kurmasheva and Evan Gershkovich safely home. It’s time to use that same playbook for Austin Tice. Direct engagement with the Russian government worked for Evan and Alsu, and a similar approach could work for Austin too. His continued unacknowledged detention sends a terrible message to journalists everywhere and emboldens press freedom’s adversaries with the knowledge that the U.S. has failed for 12 long years to free an American journalist from captivity.
“The Tice family sincerely hopes President Biden is truly committed to bringing all the American hostages home. He has said, ‘I will not stop working until every American ... held hostage around the world is reunited with their family. ...I have no higher priority as President than bringing those Americans home.’ We are longing to see Austin walk free and to give him a big Texas hug.
Tice was taken prisoner at a checkpoint near Damascus on August 14, 2012 while covering Syria’s civil war for several media outlets. He has remained incommunicado since the day he was captured, but as President Biden declared in 2022, the U.S. government knows “with certainty that he has been held by the Syrian regime” and called on Damascus to cooperate on efforts to release him. These comments marked the first occasion that a U.S. president publicly acknowledged efforts to free Austin, but stopped short of confirming direct negotiations with Damascus, as RSF has urged.
On World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2024, President Biden again referred to Tice and called “for the immediate and unconditional release of all journalists who have been put behind bars for simply doing their jobs.”
Tice, now 43, is a veteran Captain in the Marine Corps, a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, an Eagle Scout, and a National Merit Scholar. Tice was set to begin his final year at Georgetown Law School in the Fall of 2012 upon his return from a reporting trip on the Syrian conflict. His work has been published by McClatchy News, The Washington Post, Associated Press, and AFP, and broadcast on CBS, NPR, and BBC. Tice has received the McClatchy Newspaper’s 2012 President’s Award and the 2012 George Polk Award for War Reporting.
Direct engagement is necessary, if complicated
The recent successful negotiations with the Kremlin are a reminder of the results direct engagement can yield. However, Washington and Damascus currently have no official relations. The U.S. embassy in Damascus suspended operations in 2012 and the State Department ordered the Syrian embassy in Washington to suspend its operations in 2014. Efforts in Congress could further complicate relations, as legislation introduced in 2023 would prohibit any U.S. official from engagement with Syrian officials. The Tice family has said this bill “would effectively sentence Austin to more time in captivity.”
RSF has worked closely with Tice’s family, including his parents Marc and Debra, who have fought relentlessly to bring their son home. Since 2015, RSF has partnered with The Washington Post, The New York Times, USA Today, McClatchy and other media outlets in a campaign to free Tice.
Syria ranks 179th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2024 World Press Freedom Index.
