American freed as Syria's regime falls, begins journey home
Travis Timmerman was found near Damascus after being released from prison by rebels. The man claims he was arrested seven months ago after entering the country, and since his release, he has been trying to leave Syria.
Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime and the takeover of Syria by rebels, tens of thousands of people, including women and children, were released from prisons. Among those detained were opponents of the dictatorship held in inhumane conditions.
One of the released individuals is Travis Timmerman, a 30-year-old United States citizen. In an interview with the BBC, he claimed that one morning he was awakened by two men. They reportedly broke down the cell door with a hammer.
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, he said in an interview with journalists.
After leaving prison with a large group of people, he tried to reach Jordan. He claims he felt frightened and simultaneously worried about finding a place to sleep. The locals were kind to him and did not refuse to help.
According to media reports, Timmerman went missing in February in Budapest, Hungary. He was found in a prison in Damascus. He believes he was treated well. He did not lack food and drank regularly. He had access to a phone and contacted his family. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that officials are working on bringing the citizen back to the country.
Thousands of prisoners were released after the fall of Bashar al-Assad last weekend. Assad's regime was known for its extremely harsh prisons. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, nearly 60,000 people were tortured and killed in regime-run prisons.
