Syria denies holding American journalist Austin Tice

Syrian authorities denied on Wednesday (17/8) that they have kidnapped or are holding American journalist Austin Tice, who has been missing for 10 yearswhile Joe Biden last week asked Damascus to release him.

Austin Tice who except journalist was also a former US Army Marine, kidnapped in August 2012 when he was 31 years old near Damascus. He was there as a freelance journalist to cover the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

His family believes he is alive and is still being held in Syria. The identity of Tice’s captors is unknown and no one has claimed responsibility for his abduction.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry described Tais as a member of the US military and denied that Syrian authorities are holding him or any other US citizen.

“These are baseless accusations“, he emphasized in a statement as broadcast by the Athens News Agency.

Biden: We’ve asked the Syrian government to work with us so we can bring Austin home

In his announcement on the tenth anniversary of the abduction of Tais o Joe Beiden Wednesday (10/8) he said his government “has repeatedly asked the government of Syria to work with us so that we can bring Austin home.”

The American president added that Washington knows “with certainty” that Tice has been detained by the Syrian government at times.

The US withdrew its diplomatic mission from Syria in 2012, after civil war broke out in the country.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said for his part that Special Envoy for Prisoner Affairs Roger Carstens “will continue to work with the Syrian government” in coordination with the White House.