WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden met with the dad and mom of Austin Tice, an American journalist who went lacking in Syria in 2012, on the White Home on Monday after journalists inspired him over the weekend to prioritize Tice’s case.
White Home press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed the assembly passed off, noting the president’s nationwide safety staff has been in frequent contact with the Tice household since December of final yr.
“The president reiterated his dedication to proceed to work by all accessible avenues to safe Austin’s lengthy overdue return to his household,” Psaki stated in an announcement, and “additional emphasised that his administration will work relentlessly till Austin and different People held hostage and wrongfully detained worldwide are safely at residence with their family members.”
“Immediately’s assembly constructed on a number of conferences and conversations between the Tice household and the president’s nationwide safety staff,” she added, “which is able to stay in common contact with the Tices and different households of People held hostage or wrongfully detained overseas.”
Each Biden and Tice’s mom, Debra, attended the annual dinner of the White Home Correspondents’ Affiliation on Saturday the place Tice’s story was instructed. Biden stated over the weekend that he hoped to satisfy with the Tices, prompting his aides to arrange the assembly, Psaki stated.
A Texas native and former officer of the U.S. Marine Corps, Tice was 31 when he traveled to Syria in 2012 as a contract journalist for McClatchy, The Washington Publish and CBS News.
He was detained at a checkpoint in a suburb of Damascus. 5 weeks later, a video was launched exhibiting him held by unidentified armed males. Nobody has claimed duty for his disappearance.
Debra and Marc Tice, Austin’s father, have since pushed three presidents to determine his whereabouts and safe his launch.
Debra criticized Biden late final yr for not listening to the case, stating the president “has by no means stated Austin’s identify publicly.”
“I ponder if he’s allowed himself to overlook about Austin,” she instructed reporters. “I don’t have any indication in any other case.”
She later met with Biden’s nationwide safety adviser, Jake Sullivan, who assured her that Tice’s case is a prime precedence for the administration.
The US doesn’t acknowledge the federal government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, and the Biden administration won’t say whether or not it’s keen to interact with it on to safe Tice’s freedom.
However the administration has made a push to free People unjustly detained overseas in current months, granting its particular envoy for hostage affairs, Roger Carstens, the liberty to interact with hostile overseas governments, such because the regime of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.
“We’ve a whole equipment and energy by the interagency to work to do the whole lot we will to interact with leaders, with international locations, even some we definitely would not have diplomatic relations with, to carry People residence,” Psaki stated.
Whereas the Assad authorities has by no means acknowledged Tice’s seize, the Biden administration is working in direction of his launch on the idea that he’s alive.
Officers from the Trump administration made a push for Tice’s launch in 2020, assembly with Syrian officers to debate potential phrases for his launch.
Debra and Marc Tice didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
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