US Captives Overseas: White House Secures Release Of Captive In Lebanon, Pleads With Syria To Release Journalist

The White House said Thursday a U.S. citizen held in Lebanon on alleged torture charges has been released, and officials were working with Syria to secure the release of freelance journalist reportedly held since 2012.

Amer Fakhoury, 57, was released by the Lebanese government after more than six months in captivity for alleged actions during Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon from 1985 to 2000. Fakhoury, who suffers from stage 4 lymphoma, was picked up by U.S. military medical aircraft from Beirut after being released to the U.S. Embassy.

The aircraft is reportedly bound for New Hampshire.

“Anytime a U.S. citizen is wrongfully detained by a foreign government, we must use every tool at our disposal to free them,” New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen told reporters. “No family should have to go through what the Fakhoury family has gone through.”

Fakhoury was arrested on Sept. 12 after returning to Lebanon reportedly for the first time in 20 years. He was accused of collaborating with Israel as part of the South Lebanon Army, a Christian militia in Lebanon that became notorious for its torture tactics. Fakhoury allegedly oversaw the torture of Lebanese prisoners during his time as a member of the militia.

Fakhoury was previously charged as a collaborator in 1996, but those charges were dropped. He then fled the country, becoming a U.S. citizen and taking up residence in Dover, New Hampshire.

The latest charges were dropped after a judge ruled the statute of limitations had expired. However, a military judge reportedly filed an appeal under pressure from Hezbollah.

“Since day one of arresting the criminal agent and killer Amer Fakhoury, American pressures and threats were made, secretly and openly, to force Lebanon to release him,” Hezbollah said in a statement. “It is a sad day for Lebanon and justice.”

A White House administrator, whose name hasn’t been released, said they were ready to evacuate Farkhoury when the appeal was filed. They decided to extract him anyway, insisting it was a legal extraction.

“We are bringing another American citizen home,” President Trump told reporters at Thursday's coronavirus briefing.

Trump then called on Syria to release journalist Austin Tice, 38. He asked Syrian President Bashar Assad to release Tice immediately on humanitarian grounds.

“Syria, please work with us, and we would appreciate you letting him out,” Trump said. “We’ve done a lot for Syria and we have to see if they’re going to do this. It would be very much appreciated if they let Austin Tice out immediately.”

Tice is a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and was attending Georgetown Law School when he disappeared in May 2012. He was working as a freelance journalist in Syria covering the civil war when he vanished. A video was released a few weeks later of Tice being held by an “unusual group of apparent jihadists” who had him blindfolded and were forcing him to recite a prayer.

It was unclear whether he is still alive.

Former CIA Director and current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly reached out to the Syrian government in June 2017 to try and secure Tice’s release. Talks were reportedly progressing but fell through after the a U.S. missile attack in response to the Syrian military using nerve gas during an attack on rebel-held territory.

Despite talks falling through, the FBI continued its own efforts and began offering a $1 million reward “for information leading directly to the safe location, recovery and return of” Tice.

Tice’s mother, Debra Tice, has said previously she believes her son is alive, but is frustrated by a senior administrator who has allegedly obstructed efforts to free him. She also expressed her gratitude to the Trump administration for its efforts to bring her son home.

“This administration is pressing it much more diligently than the previous administration,” Tice said. “There is a deliberate, concerted effort to make this happen. I think it has not happened because somewhere at the senior level there’s some kind of obstruction.”