Major General Bassam Al Hassan alleges that Assad ordered the execution of missing journalist Austin Tice, who vanished in Syria in 2012. Ongoing investigations aim to verify his claims and locate Tice's remains.
Claims of Execution: Missing US Journalist Austin Tice Allegedly Ordered to be Killed by Bashar al-Assad
Claims of Execution: Missing US Journalist Austin Tice Allegedly Ordered to be Killed by Bashar al-Assad
A former Syrian commander asserts that the execution of Austin Tice, missing since 2012, was ordered by ex-President Bashar al-Assad, intensifying the search for answers.
The ex-Syrian military official implicated in the disappearance of missing American journalist Austin Tice has made startling allegations, claiming that former President Bashar al-Assad ordered Tice's execution. Major General Bassam Al Hassan, part of Assad’s inner circle and a former commander within the Republican Guards, was linked to a recent BBC investigation that revealed the involvement of Assad’s regime in Tice's abduction.
Tice, who was working as a freelance journalist, disappeared near Damascus in August 2012, shortly after celebrating his 31st birthday. For years, authorities from the Assad regime have denied any knowledge of his fate, but evidence gathered in the BBC investigation suggests otherwise. Al Hassan, currently facing sanctions from multiple Western entities, managed the facility where Tice was reportedly held.
Information from sources reveals Al Hassan's multiple meetings with US law enforcement officials in Lebanon, where he allegedly informed investigators from the FBI and CIA that Assad ordered Tice's execution. During these discussions, he claimed to have initially urged Assad against killing Tice yet eventually followed through on directives that led to the journalist's death. Additionally, Al Hassan purportedly provided potential locations to search for Tice's body.
As the investigation progresses, skepticism surrounds Al Hassan’s claims, particularly regarding Assad’s direct involvement in such a command, given his known strategies of avoiding accountability for violent actions.
Debra Tice, Austin’s mother, has actively sought answers for over a decade and recently traveled to Beirut in hopes of confronting Al Hassan about her son. Her attempts to meet with him were unsuccessful, and she expressed concern that Al Hassan may be fabricating information for the US authorities. Despite her frustrations, Debra maintains hope, stating, “I still believe that my son is alive and that he will walk free.”
Meanwhile, another former member of the National Defence Forces, who possesses detailed knowledge of Tice's captivity, acknowledged the strategic value of Tice to the Assad regime as potential leverage in negotiations with the U.S.
Al Hassan, deemed a key advisor to Assad, fled to Iran following the regime’s decline and was lured to Lebanon under assurances he would not be detained. The plight of Austin Tice has been met with persistent focus from successive U.S. administrations, with indications that Tice, a former Marine, is believed to be alive, further complicating the ongoing quest for resolution in this troubling case.
