Syrian terrorists are apparently holding an American hostage--a former U.S. Marine and who was in the country as a freelance journalist. He’s the last confirmed American hostage in Syria.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Thursday it is launching a campaign to free Austin Tice, who went missing in Syria since 2012. He work was used in McClatchy Newspapers, the Washington Post, Associated Press, AFP, and also CBS, NPR, and BBC.
Tice is not being held captive by the Islamic State, or ISIS, which has released videos showing militants beheading U.S., U.K., and Japanese citizens. According to RSF, Tice is alive, but it’s not clear what group is keeping him captive.
On Sept. 26, 2012, a video that was posted on YouTube confirmed Tice, a Georgetown University law student, was taken captive by militants in Syria. “I immediately went into shock,” Debra Tice, his mother, told Fox when she saw the video. He was blindfolded with his hands tied behind his back
“Since September 2012, RSF has been assisting and advising his family. His parents asked RSF to help them raise awareness about their son’s situation,” the group said. “RSF partnered with the global advertising agency J.Walter Thompson to prepare a public awareness campaign in order to do everything possible to bring Austin Tice safely home. J.Walter Thompson developed pro-bono a campaign around the idea of being blindfolded when journalists are missing.”
According to RSF, Syria is the most dangerous place in the world for journalists. Since the start of the March 2011 uprising, hundreds of journalists have been kidnapped or killed.
“So many Americans didn’t know about these missing journalists — even James Foley, whose situation was so public — until they came to this brutal end,” Debra Tice told USA Today. “Americans need to know the sacrifices journalists make, the risks they take to bring us the real news, the news about things that are going on in other parts of the world.”
