Syrian family hosts released American for matter of hours before he was taken in by new authorities

(12 Dec 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ziabiyeh, Damascus countryside, Syria - 12 December 2024
1. Wide of alley at Ziabiyeh village
2. Mid of Moussa Rifae (right) talking to man
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Moussa Rifae, municipality guard who found Timmerman:
“I met this guy (Travis Timmerman) at 8:00 in the morning between Al-Sayedah and Ziabiyeh road. He was barefoot, I brought him here to my house, warmed him up, fed him, and brought him a doctor to diagnose him, his status was good.”
4. Wide of Rifae family inside their house sitting on ground
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hamad Rifae, Moussa’s brother:
“His health condition was good. He asked for food which we offered him, he was feeling very cold, so we turned on the heater and covered him with a blanket.”
6. Close of hands
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hamad Rifae, Moussa’s brother:
“After two hours, youth from the operation command came and received him. We saved him and did not accept to hand him over but (only) for officials (HTS) who oversee this area and the country and not any others.”
8. Wide of Rifae family sitting
9. Mid of Hamad drinking tea
10. Close of hand with cigarette and cup of tea
STORYLINE:
A Syrian family on Thursday said that they hosted a released American citizen for a matter of hours before he was taken in by the country's new authorities.

Travis Timmerman, who was detained after crossing into the country on foot seven months ago on a Christian pilgrimage, was host on Thursday by a Syrian family before he was taken over by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS).

Moussa Rifae, the guard of Ziabiyeh municipality, found Timmerman at 8:00 in the morning on the road barefoot.

He said he brought him back to his home in the village of Ziabiyeh in the southern countryside of the Syrian Capital Damascus.

"I brought him here to my house, warmed him up, fed him, and brought him a doctor to diagnose him, his status was good,” said Rifae.

Travis Timmerman appears to have been among thousands of people released from the country's notorious prisons after rebels reached Damascus over the weekend, overthrowing President Bashar Assad and ending his family's 54-year rule.

As video emerged online of Timmerman on Thursday, he was initially mistaken by some for Austin Tice, an American journalist who went missing in Syria 12 years ago.

In the video, Timmerman could be seen lying on a mattress under a blanket in what appeared to be a private house.

A group of men in the video said that he was being treated well and would be safely returned home.

It was not immediately clear where Timmerman had been held.

AP Video shot by Abdulrahman Shaheen

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