Investigation Reveals Orchestrated Kidnapping of Journalist Austin Tice

According to new reports by the BBC and NPR, American journalist Austin Tice, who vanished in Syria in 2012, was abducted in a meticulously planned operation. This operation unfolded over several weeks. A member of the group responsible for detaining Tice claims that the kidnapping was sanctioned by then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Tice was last seen by rebel fighters in August 2012. He was getting into a car with a trusted driver. Initially, many believed that the car ran into a government checkpoint and Tice’s capture was a chance event. However, new evidence curated by journalists Joshua Baker and Sara Obeidat, featured in the podcast Where is Austin Tice?, suggests otherwise.

The investigation reveals that Tice’s disappearance was a calculated action organized by the Syrian regime. Baker and Obeidat conversed with regime members and analyzed recordings that discussed Tice’s abduction, including a senior regime officer’s involvement. A source named Abu Ali, part of the National Defense Force (NDF), disclosed that the driver, trusted by Tice, supplied information to the regime.

“The operation initiated with Tice’s driver,” Ali explained.

The driver informed Sakr Rustom, a senior NDF member, about Tice’s movements in rebel-held zones. Tice had reported on the opposition, and his work appeared on the Washington Post’s front page. The regime, aiming to suppress reports on its human rights abuses, viewed Tice as a threat.

Rustom, the nephew of Bassam al-Hassan, passed the information up to Hassan, a major general in the Republican Guard. Hassan shared this with Assad, who allegedly endorsed the abduction, saying, “Bring him to us,” as reported by Ali. Ali mentioned he received orders directly from Hassan, following Assad’s approval.

Tice, who attended Georgetown Law and was a former U.S. Marine captain, ventured to Syria in 2012 to report as a freelance war journalist. When Assad’s government ultimately collapsed in 2024, supporters of Tice hoped for his release from Syrian prisons.

The podcast narrates the extensive investigation by Baker and Obeidat into Tice’s disappearance, a case highlighted by global media and acknowledged by multiple U.S. presidents. Post-Assad’s fall, the BBC discovered secret Syrian intelligence files containing conclusive evidence of Tice’s capture by the regime. Yet, specifics about his abduction remained obscure.

Before his disappearance, Tice lived among Syrian rebels, sometimes sharing his Marine expertise. Syrian officials suspected Tice of being more than a journalist, potentially a CIA operative, accusations which U.S. officials deny.

On his 31st birthday, Tice celebrated in a rebel safehouse. A tweet from that day described a joyful occasion with poolside festivities and music. Ali narrated that the trusted driver took Tice to a government facility instead, pulling a gun when they arrived. The driver’s identity had stayed hidden until recent discoveries.

Interviews led BBC and NPR reporters to Homs, pinpointing a man named Hamid Abu Obeid as the driver. Abu Obeid’s family acknowledged his role in Tice’s abduction. However, Abu Obeid vanished before being located by investigators. His family shared insights into his possible motives: promises of citizenship, a home, a weapon, yet only a Glock was delivered.

Following Assad’s regime’s fall, Abu Obeid received a threatening call urging him not to divulge his involvement to the U.S. embassy. He disappeared soon after. His wife reported masked men raided their home, taking electronic devices and possessions. Abu Obeid’s current whereabouts remain unknown.