Mother of detained reporter urges U.S. to talk with Syrians
Debra Tice speaks at a Jan. 27 press conference announcing the second annual Night Out for Austin Tice.
A single U.S. government official is believed to be blocking talks with Syrian authorities about securing the release of an American journalist said to be held in that country, the reporter’s mother told a press conference Monday at the National Press Club.
Debra Tice, mother of U.S. freelance reporter Austin Tice, said a top Syrian official offered in 2014 to talk with U.S. counterparts about her son’s situation but that American officials have failed to walk through what she called an “open door.”
The Obama administration did not follow through on the offer, Debra Tice said. And today, President Donald Trump has directed his team to secure her son’s release, but “there is a senior U.S. government official who is hesitating or stalling," she said.
Directing her words to that official, Debra Tice said: “Whoever you are, stand down, or stand up for Austin. One or the other.”
Austin Tice was captured in Syria in 2012 and his mother says she has “credible confirmation” that he is still alive. Whoever his captors are, the Syrian government is in a position to work for his release, she said.
The Club and its non-profit arm, the National Journalism Institute, have shone a spotlight for years on Austin Tice’s case.
Last May, the Club held a Night Out for Austin Tice, when 80 restaurants in 13 states donated part of their proceeds to increase by $60,000 the FBI’s $1 million reward for information leading to the reporter’s safe return home.
This year, on April 29, the Club is organizing a second such event, with the hope of getting at least one restaurant in each state to participate, said Club President Mike Freedman at news conference. “The world needs to know his name,” he said.
Last September, the Club secured the signatures of 121 House members and 52 senators on a letter to Trump urging that more be done to obtain Austin Tice’s release.
Tice was a Marine Corps captain who left Georgetown Law School to cover the war in Syria in 2012. He was a freelance reporter for McClatchy News, the Washington Post and other publications.