A bearded man with a scruffy appearance, identified as Travis Timmerman, a missing Missouri resident, was discovered in Syria on Thursday. Timmerman claimed he was imprisoned after traveling to the country for spiritual reasons.
The 29-year-old recounted that he had spent over six months in a government prison before being freed by rebel fighters armed with AK-47s on Monday, as the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad crumbled.
"My door was broken down, and it woke me up," Timmerman told CBS. "I initially thought the guards were still present, so I assumed the conflict might be more intense than it actually was. Once we were outside, there was no resistance, and no significant fighting."
A video of Timmerman, released on Thursday by the Turkish news agency Anadolu, initially led to speculation that he could be American journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared in 2012 while reporting on the anti-Assad uprising in Damascus at the start of the Syrian civil war.
Timmerman revealed that he was detained seven months ago after entering Syria without authorization, having crossed the border from Lebanon. He had journeyed from Europe to Lebanon for spiritual purposes and described himself to NBC News as a religious "pilgrim."
His time in one of Syria's infamous prisons was, according to him, "not too bad." "I was never physically assaulted. The worst part was the lack of bathroom access; I was only allowed out three times a day to use the facilities," he told CBS News.
Now, he is facing greater challenges finding a place to sleep at night on the streets.
Source link: https://nypost.com
