Travis Timmerman, a 29-year-old American man from Missouri was found wandering about south of Damascus after spending months in a Syrian prison.
As reported by BBC News and The Associated Press, Timmerman was on a Christian foot pilgrimage when he accidentally crossed the mountains between Lebanon and Syria. He was then detained by Syrian authorities for illegally crossing the border and was imprisoned there for months.
When asked by CNN about his time at the Syrian prison, Travis Timmerman said that it 'wasn't too bad,' noting:
“It was OK. I was fed. I was watered. The one difficulty was that I couldn’t go to the bathroom when I wanted to. I was not beaten and the guards treated me decently.”
Following the fall of President Bashar Al-Assad and the capture of Damascus by rebels, Travis Timmerman described being freed from his prison cell when two men armed with a hammer broke down the door.
“It was busted open, and the noise woke me,” he recounted to BBC News. Initially, Travis said he feared active conflict, but the escape was unchallenged. Timmerman joined a large group of detainees in leaving the prison, aiming to reach Jordan amidst the upheaval.
When a video of Travis Timmerman surfaced online on Thursday, some initially mistook him for Austin Tice, a U.S. journalist missing in Syria since 2012. The footage depicted a pale, disoriented man with a beard lying on a mattress under a blanket, reportedly in a private residence. A group of men who made the video referred to him as 'an American journalist,' assuring he was being treated well and would be safely returned to his home country.
Reactions to Travis Timmerman's release
The Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which played a key role in overthrowing Assad's government, confirmed that they had secured Timmerman's release. The group also mentioned their ongoing search for Austin Tice, an American journalist who went missing in Syria 12 years ago.
Post Timmerman's release, the rebel group expressed a willingness to work with the U.S. to locate American citizens missing under the previous Assad regime. The former Syrian government was infamous for its brutal prisons, where an estimated 60,000 people were tortured or killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Travis Timmerman's family also breathed a sigh of relief after his release. When speaking to CNN World, Timmerman’s stepfather Richard Gardiner said:
“Tears, started bawling, it was so emotional. I’m thinking the worst, after seven months you just think he’s gone.”
Gardiner said he then called Travis's mother to inform her and they both got emotional over the phone. Travis Timmerman's cousin also spoke to CBS News and expressed how 'overjoyed' the family was to find out that Timmerman was alive and coming home soon.
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When asked what she would say to him after she saw him, Travis Timmerman's cousin said that she could give him 'a big ol' hug.'
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