A U.S. man, who had been detained for months in a Syrian prison after entering the country on foot, has described his release by men armed with hammers as rebels overthrew Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Rebels have stated their intention to shut down Assad’s notorious prisons and pursue those responsible for torturing or killing detainees.
“We will pursue them in Syria and ask countries to hand over those who fled so we can achieve justice,” said rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani.
Video footage shared on social media showed Mr. Timmerman lying on a sofa as local residents spoke to reporters. He explained that he had been arrested seven months ago upon entering Syria.
Mr. Timmerman had been reported missing in May, after he was last seen in Budapest, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Hungarian authorities.
The day after rebels took control of Damascus and ousted Assad, Mr. Timmerman recounted that two men armed with a hammer broke down his prison door, waking him up.
“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, no real fighting,” he said.
The 30-year-old added that he left the prison with a group of other detainees and had been trying to reach Jordan. He admitted to feeling fear at times but was mostly concerned about finding a place to sleep. Despite this, local residents were generous, offering him food and assistance.
“They were coming to me, mostly,” he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that the U.S. is working on bringing Mr. Timmerman back home, although he provided no details about the next steps during a visit to Jordan.
