Results of ” the Syrian Anti- terrorist Agency “Investigations: Journalist Austin Tice is Alive in Maher Al-Assad’s Prisons

Austin Tice, the American journalist, was kidnapped in Syria on August 14, 2012. He lost contact near Damascus after entering Syria to cover the events of the Syrian revolution. Despite many years passing since his kidnapping, no party has claimed responsibility for it, and his fate remains unknown until now.

The U.S. government has repeatedly called on Syrian authorities to help locate him and return him. During the presidency of Donald Trump, undisclosed negotiations were held with the Syrian regime, and in 2020, Kash Patel, a senior U.S. official, visited Damascus to discuss Austin Tice’s case. Media reports indicated that the U.S. was seeking a settlement that included offering diplomatic or economic incentives to the Syrian regime in exchange for cooperation in his release. However, Damascus denied any knowledge of his whereabouts or detention.

Last year, the wife of a prominent Syrian officer leaked information to her friend (a defected officer living in a neighboring country) about Tice’s presence in the prison managed by her husband. They intended to use this information to seek asylum and American protection. The defected officer contacted us and explained his information, which we passed to Joel Rayburn, the former U.S. envoy for the Syrian file. Rayburn responded that a solid piece of information about Tice was required to reopen the case. We conveyed this to the officer, indicating that evidence was needed first, but the case went cold.

More than a month ago, during efforts to gather information about Iran and its movements within the Syrian regime, especially from the Russian wing privy to Iranian activities, one source told a secret member of our team that they had important information about Tice. They stated that he was in a secret prison under the supervision of the Fourth Division, monitored by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. We requested proof that Tice was alive before proceeding. The officer provided a code, allegedly from Tice, meant to convince the Americans: “Arisville 666.” or “Lucifer 666”
We forwarded it to Joel Rayburn, who immediately passed it on to the authorities. While awaiting a response for days, we reached out to Tice’s mother and asked if this code meant anything to her.

We reconnected with the source and asked for further proof of Tice’s existence. His mother had posed a question that only Austin could answer: “What did Austin call his middle sister?” The officer asked for time but did not respond. We then requested Tice’s mother to appear in a video thanking “the Syrian Anti- terrorist Agency” for its efforts in uncovering her son’s fate. She refused after consulting someone she referred to as “Nizar Zakka,” a Lebanese individual with an organization focused on abductees, whom she trusts more than the U.S. government. Despite her appearance being a potential leverage tool to press the U.S. administration, the situation reached a stalemate, with each side imposing conditions that the other could not accept. Unable to break the deadlock, we decided to reveal some of what we had to expose the truth of who kidnaps and hides people in Syria.

The person who confirmed Tice’s existence promised to provide a recent video of him if the U.S. authorities agreed to guarantees for his and the prison director’s safety, as well as their families. He requested a meeting with a U.S. representative, and when delayed, he began demanding a financial sum as proof of the Americans’ seriousness, to be deposited into an account he would specify. Then, he asked for asylum and resettlement requests to be accepted for twenty families, including officers. We insisted on obtaining solid proof beyond just the code, and the door was closed again.

Three weeks later, the FBI contacted us through the official responsible for the Tice case. We explained the case details, and two days later, they responded that without clear evidence, they would not proceed further.

We had hoped for U.S. cooperation in capturing this valuable target, which includes four officers sanctioned by the Treasury Department and possessing treasures of information, including that related to Tice and 200,000 missing Syrians in Syrian prisons, as well as countless other files. These officers were willing to surrender themselves and their families to U.S. authorities—after ensuring their safety.

Had the operation succeeded, our gain would have been the information we would obtain, the pressure on the Syrian regime, and the legal evidence against it as a terrorist regime, as testified by its top officers. This gain far outweighs what we would lose by helping criminals who massacred the Syrian people in obtaining asylum.

By publishing part of the information publicly, we ensure Tice’s safety first and foremost and foil any attempt by the Biden administration to strike a deal with Iran for Tice’s release in exchange for increasing Iranian influence in Syria. We do not trust the Obama or Biden administrations due to their close relationship with Iran and their cooperation with it on the Syrian file since the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was signed in 2015. Thus, we would not betray the Syrian people or the cause of the 200,000 missing in Syrian prisons like Tice.

The person who contacted us is Major Pilot Haidar Al-Assad, accused of involvement in the chemical attacks. The person theoretically responsible for Tice’s prison is Major General Zuhair Tawfiq Al-Assad, commander of the Second Corps, who coordinates the deal with the Americans along with Major General Kifah Moulhem, head of the Syrian National Security Bureau, and Major General Bassam Marhej Al-Hassan, responsible for research and military manufacturing in the Republican Guard. All of them are under U.S. sanctions and are seeking salvation, especially after feeling that they are becoming prey to Iran, following Russia’s abandonment of them and confiscation of their funds through Asma Al-Assad to repay some of Russia’s debts to the regime. They, therefore, thought of exchanging the information they possess with the Americans in exchange for ensuring their safety.

After we revealed the information we had regarding the abducted journalist Austin Tice, on September 21, 2024, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that Washington knows Damascus detained the American journalist Austin Tice and has repeatedly offered ways to bring him back to America. In response to journalists’ questions, he added, “We believe the Syrian government can help end Austin’s captivity and provide not only information on his whereabouts but also the fate of other missing Americans in Syria.” He stressed that the issue of detained Americans in Syria is “very personal” to both the Secretary of State and the U.S. President, and they would continue working on it “around the clock.”

 

All the recordings and information from which the article was derived are available in the following video links, presented by the Head of the Political Office in the Syrian Anti-Terrorist Agency, Dr. Kamal Al-Labwani.