Debra Tice Reveals New Details in Austin Tice Case at Press Event

Washington, D.C. — Debra Tice shared recently declassified documents concerning her son, Austin Tice, during an event at the National Press Club on Thursday. This event marked 13 years since the American journalist went missing near Damascus, Syria.

The documents, some heavily redacted by the U.S. government, were part of a larger collection of classified intelligence that Debra Tice was granted access to earlier this year by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. For years, Tice has been seeking new information regarding her son’s whereabouts. She stated that the raw intelligence shows the government had significant information throughout his detention.

“Our government had information almost every single day of Austin Tice’s detention,” Debra Tice said at the event, emphasizing the need for transparency.

She added that the documents detailed who was holding her son, including instances when he was taken for medical treatment. “When he had something wrong with his teeth, they took him to a dentist. When he had some stomach issues, they took him to a doctor,” she explained, although she did not specify the timeline for these events.

Austin Tice, a freelance journalist, was abducted while covering Syria’s civil war on or around August 13, 2012, at the age of 31. U.S. officials have frequently stated that the search for Tice has not produced reliable information about his fate, largely due to the interference of the Bashar al-Assad regime. Despite extensive efforts over three U.S. administrations, including involvement from diplomats and other figures, credible information remains scarce.

The Assad regime has consistently denied holding Tice, and a recent CIA assessment deemed the information about his fate to be of “low confidence,” a conclusion the family disputes. Debra Tice shared additional information from the intelligence files, stating that shortly after her son’s disappearance, the Syrian government attempted to facilitate his return to the U.S.

“They reached out to Hillary Clinton and wanted her to come and get Austin in August of 2012, and she declined,” she said, though no evidence was provided to support the assertion.

Two former U.S. officials familiar with the case have stated that no such offer was ever made by the Syrian government. “In fact, they vigorously denied any knowledge of Austin right to the end,” one official noted.

The Tice family has reported an increase in information related to Austin’s case since the Trump administration granted them access to classified documents and following the Assad regime’s collapse in December. Debra Tice expressed her resolve to keep her son in the public eye, stating, “We know Austin is alive. We need to find him.”

The last visual confirmation of Austin Tice came shortly after his abduction, showing him blindfolded and held by armed men. This video has raised questions about its authenticity.

In the aftermath of the Assad regime’s decline, the Tice family had hoped for new leads regarding their son. However, even with the release of numerous prisoners from Assad’s detention facilities, there has been no sign of Tice.