{"id":2379384,"date":"2024-12-12T14:04:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-12T19:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/american-freed-from-damascus-prison-says-hes-a-missing-pilgrim\/"},"modified":"2024-12-12T14:05:00","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T19:05:00","slug":"american-freed-from-damascus-prison-says-hes-a-missing-pilgrim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/american-freed-from-damascus-prison-says-hes-a-missing-pilgrim\/","title":{"rendered":"American freed from Damascus prison says he&#8217;s a missing pilgrim"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Famerican-freed-from-damascus-prison-says-hes-a-missing-pilgrim%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2379384&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>An American citizen \u2062named Travis \u2064Timmerman, who was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/san-francisco-public-schools-renaming-plan-rife-with-historical-errors\/\" title=\"San Francisco Public Schools Renaming Plan \u2018Rife With Historical Errors\u2019\">recently freed<\/a> by Syrian rebels from a prison near Damascus, has\u2062 been missing for several months. He claims to have\u2064 entered Syria from\u2063 Lebanon on a \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/site-of-jesus-baptism-could-become-home-to-300-million-tourist-village\/\" title=\"Site Of Jesus\u2019 Baptism Could Become Home To 0 Million Tourist Village\">religious pilgrimage<\/a> when he was detained by the authorities during the regime of former \u200bPresident Bashar Assad. Following his liberation, Secretary of \u200bState Antony Blinken confirmed \u200creports of the \u200dAmerican \u200ccitizen&#8217;s release during a brief interview.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">American freed from Damascus prison says he&rsquo;s a Christian pilgrim missing for months<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1908001\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>A man liberated by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/syria\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Syrian rebels<\/a> from a prison near Damascus is identifying himself as a U.S. citizen who has been missing for months.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The man, who identifies himself as Travis Timmerman, says he walked from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/lebanon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Lebanon<\/a> into Syria on a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">religious pilgrimage months ago<\/a> and was arrested by authorities during the administration of now-deposed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bashar-assad\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">President Bashar Assad<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the reports of an &ldquo;American citizen who was found just today&rdquo; in a brief interview with Sky News on Thursday.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">We were among the first reporters to speak with Travis Timmerman, the American &ldquo;pilgrim&rdquo; who was detained in Syria after he crossed into the country on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lori-lightfoot-said-chicagos-crime-is-falling-heres-what-the-numbers-say\/\" title=\"Lori Lightfoot Said Chicago\u2019s Crime is Falling. Here\u2019s What the Numbers Say\">foot earlier<\/a> this year directed, he said, by &ldquo;the lord&rdquo;. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Ps4zsbGkw5\">pic.twitter.com\/Ps4zsbGkw5<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Matt Bradley (@MattMcBradley) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MattMcBradley\/status\/1867219172595503346?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 12, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re working to bring him home &mdash; to bring him out of Syria and to bring him home,&rdquo; Blinken said. &ldquo;But for privacy reasons, I can&rsquo;t share any more detail than that.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Travis Pete Timmerman&rdquo; was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-senators-demand-fbi-secret-service-records-on-alleged-hunter-biden-gun-incident\/\" title=\"GOP Senators Demand FBI, Secret Service Records On Alleged Hunter Biden Gun Incident\">reported missing<\/a> by Hungarian authorities in August. A &ldquo;Pete Timmerman&rdquo; had been earlier reported missing by Missouri State Highway Patrol in May with his last known location in the Hungarian capital city of Budapest.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/missouri\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Missouri<\/a> missing person report contains a picture of a man similar in appearance to the released prisoner.<\/p>\n<p>He is only one of many prisoners being liberated from Assad-era compounds as the terrorist group and revolutionary militia Hay&rsquo;at Tahrir al-Sham takes control of the national government.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Two insurgent fighters inspect the cells of the infamous Saydnaya military prison on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, just north of Damascus, Syria. Crowds are gathering to enter the prison, known as the &ldquo;human slaughterhouse,&rdquo; some hoping to find relatives who were held there, after thousands of inmates were released following the rebels&rsquo; overthrow of Bashar Assad&rsquo;s regime on Sunday. (AP Photo\/Hussein Malla)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The man&rsquo;s release initially sparked confusion as people mistook him for fellow U.S. citizen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/3256998\/us-goals-in-syria-a-stable-government-isis-in-check-and-return-of-austin-tice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Austin Tice<\/a>, a Marine veteran and journalist who was kidnapped in 2012 while traveling through Syria. The two bear a passing resemblance to each other as men with white complexions, beards, and brown hair.<\/p>\n<p>But the prisoner quickly affirmed that he is not Tice and was unaware of the journalist until after his release.<\/p>\n<p>Blinken told Sky News that there is no update on the whereabouts of Tice.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;No update on Austin Tice except to say that every single day we are working to find him and to bring him home &mdash; making sure the word is out to everyone that this is a priority for the United States,&rdquo; the secretary of state said.<\/p>\n<p>President Joe Biden said following the collapse of the Assad regime that U.S. officials believe Tice is alive and &ldquo;think we can get him back, but we have no direct evidence of that yet.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1908001\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1908001\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>American freed from Damascus prison claims to be missing Christian pilgrim<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3468,"featured_media":2379385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/AP24344567850027.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4123,46264,6835,19543,3891],"class_list":["post-2379384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-american","tag-damascus","tag-freed","tag-pilgrim","tag-prison"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/AP24344567850027.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2379384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2379384"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2379384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2379388,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2379384\/revisions\/2379388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2379385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2379384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2379384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2379384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}