Syria denies holding US journalist Austin Tice hostage as Biden demands his release

Syria has rebuked allegations that American journalist Austin Tice remains held in the country a decade on from his disappearance while reporting on the civil war.

Issuing a statement on Wednesday, Syria’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Damascus “denies it had kidnapped or is holding any American citizen on its territories.”

“The US issued last week misleading and illogical statements by the American president and secretary of state that included baseless accusations against Syria that it had kidnapped or detained American citizens including former US Marine Austin Tice,” the statement said.

US President Joe Biden said last week that US intelligence agencies knew “with certainty” that Mr Tice had been held in Syria by the government of President Bashal Al-Assad since going missing in August 2012 while reporting on the civil war.

“We know with certainty that he has been held by the Government of Syria,” Mr Biden said in his statement marking the 10th anniversary of the journalist’s disappearance. “We have repeatedly asked the government of Syria to work with us so that we can bring Austin home.”

Mr Biden’s remarks were the clearest indication so far that the US is certain Mr Tice is being held by the Assad government, which added on Wednesday that it had never had behind-the-scenes contact with US officials over Mr Tice and that “any official dialogue with the American government will only be public based on the respect of Syria’s sovereignty.”

State Department Spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Tuesday that the Biden administration has “engaged extensively – and that includes directly – with Syrian officials and through third parties” over Mr Tice’s disappearance and that the US government has pushed Syria to return every American missing in the country.

Additional reporting by the Associated Press