American 'pilgrim' emerges unscathed from Assad jail
The Independent|December 13, 2024
An American who spent seven months in a Syrian prison after crossing into the country on foot on a Christian pilgrimage has been found.
ALEX CROFT
American 'pilgrim' emerges unscathed from Assad jail

Travis Timmerman, who was found in the town of Dhiyabiya, says he was one of thousands of people released from Syrian prisons after rebel groups ousted the brutal regime of Bashar alAssad last weekend.

Speaking with CBS, Mr Timmerman revealed that he was freed by two men with AK-47s on Monday, after being detained when he entered Syria for “spiritual purposes”. He told Al Arabiya TV network that he crossed into Syria on foot from the eastern Lebanese town of Zahlé.

After being detained and spending seven months in prison, Timmerman’s “door was busted down”, he told CBS. “I thought the guards were still there, so I thought the warfare could have been more active than it ended up being. Once we got out, there was no resistance, there was no real fighting.”

This story is from the December 13, 2024 edition of The Independent.

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This story is from the December 13, 2024 edition of The Independent.

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