Syria: US man found near Damascus after spending months in prison

Overthrowing the regime of Bashar-al Assad, Syrian rebels freed thousands of people from prisons and among them was a US man, who identifies himself as Travis Timmerman.

In May this year, Timmerman was reported as missing. As per the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Hungarian authorities, he was last seen in the Hungarian capital Budapest.

How did Timmerman land in Syrian jail?

The 30-year-old, who is now a free bird, recalled that his detention occurred seven months prior when he illegally entered into Syria from the eastern Lebanese town of Zahle on foot without authorisation after spending a month in Lebanon.

A report by NBC News quoted Timmerman as saying that he had crossed the mountains between Lebanon and Syria on a “pilgrimage” and had “been reading the scripture a lot”.

Timmerman said he was arrested upon entering the country and was languishing alone in a cell.

Freedom from captivity

On Monday (December 9), a day after Syrian rebels took control of Damascus and toppled Assad, Timmerman recalled that two men armed with a hammer broke open the door of the cell where he was imprisoned.

“My prison door was busted down, it woke me up,” Timmerman was quoted as saying by CBS News.

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Timmerman said since the guards were still there, the very thought which came on his mind was that the “warfare could have been more active than it ended up being.”

Exclusive: The American citizen found near the Syrian capital Damascus is named Travis Timmerman, and is not missing US journalist Austin Tice. He tells Al Arabiya he was in prison for 7 months but was treated well. pic.twitter.com/UKLimmKGuh

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) December 12, 2024

He went on to say that once he along with a large group of people got out of the prison, there was “no resistance, there was no real fighting.”

Footage shared on social media showed Timmerman lying on a sofa as residents spoke to local reporters.

Timmerman was found by residents near the capital Damascus. He was found when officials were looking for the missing US journalist Austin Tice, who was held in Syria since 2012.

The interim Syrian government said that the search for Tice is still active.

Timmerman hasn’t fully processed his freedom

After his release, Timmerman, along with others, started walking towards Jordan. He acknowledged experiencing brief moments of anxiety upon leaving prison, though he hadn’t fully processed his freedom. He was also concerned about finding an accommodation to sleep at night.

Timmerman also expressed feeling comfortable seeking assistance from locals, who often approached him first.

He told reporters the local people had been receptive to his requests for food and assistance. “They were coming to me, mostly,” he added.

He recalled his last communication with his family three weeks ago using a permitted mobile phone whilst in prison.

Treatment in Syrian jail

In an interview with Arabic TV news channel Al-Arabiya, Timmerman said he hadn’t been beaten but could hear other people being tortured.

Timmerman described his imprisonment as relatively tolerable. He said though he avoided physical abuse, bathroom access was restricted to thrice daily.

“It was OK. I was fed. I was watered. The one difficulty was that I couldn’t go to the bathroom when I wanted to,” he said.

Footage from Syria earlier this week showed men, women and in some cases children emerging from overcrowded windowless cells, often disorientated and unaware of events that had taken place outside.

US working to bring Timmerman home

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington was “working to bring home Timmerman.”

Speaking during a visit to Jordan, where he held meetings to discuss the political transition in Syria, Blinken said: “In terms of (the) American citizen who was found just today, I can’t give you any details on exactly what’s going to happen, except to say that we’re working to bring him home, to bring him out of Syria.”

“But for privacy reasons, I can’t share any more details about this,” he further said.

During a briefing, White House Spokesperson said that the US had no prior indication the man was in Syria. “We are just getting word of this, and we’re trying to confirm his identity at this point, so the state department is working hard on that right now,” he said.

With inputs from agencies.