Missing writer likely in prison
Syrian government has him in jail, family says
BOSTON— After a five-month investigation inside Syria and across the region, the GlobalPost news agency and the family of missing American journalist James Foley now believe the Syrian government is holding him in a detention centre near Damascus.
“With a very high degree of confidence, we now believe that Jim was most likely abducted by a pro-regime militia group and subsequently turned over to Syrian government forces,” GlobalPost CEO Philip Balboni said in a speech marking World Press Freedom Day.
“We have obtained multiple independent reports from very credible confidential sources who have both indirect and direct access,” Balboni said.
“We further believe that this facility is under the control of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence service. Based on what we have learned, it is likely Jim is being held with one or more Western journalists, including most likely at least one other American.”
Austin Tice, another American journalist who worked for the McClatchy Co. and the Washington Post, has also been missing in Syria
Balboni said GlobalPost representatives were now meeting with the Syrian ambassador to Lebanon in Beirut to secure his support. The ambassador has delivered letters to various Syrian ministries.
The Syrian government, however, has so far not acknowledged knowing of Foley’s whereabouts.
“We continue to explore all avenues privately and through diplo- matic channels to convince the Syrian government to release Jim so that he can return to his family,” Balboni said.
Foley, a freelance journalist and veteran of conflict zones, most recently contributed to GlobalPost and Agence France-Presse (AFP). Foley’s family has made regular appeals in the media and set up a website seeking information and support for his release.
Foley had set off toward the Turkish border in a car about an hour before his capture. An eyewitness later told GlobalPost an unmarked car intercepted Foley. The witness said men holding Kalashnikovs shot into the air and forced Foley out of the car.
That was the last anyone heard from him.
“The not knowing is the hardest part. He hasn’t been seen. He hasn’t been heard from. We don’t know the state of his health,” said John Foley, his father, who attended the World Press Freedom Day event in Boston. Foley previously wrote for GlobalPost in Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. In April 2011, while on assignment for GlobalPost, forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi captured Foley in the eastern part of the country. Two other journalists, American Clare Gillis and Spaniard Manu Brabo, were also captured. A fourth journalist, South African Anton Hammerl, was killed. Foley, Gillis and Brabo spent 44 days in Libyan prisons before being released. Foley later returned to Libya to cover Gadhafi’s fall. World Press Freedom Day is held every year to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives. In 2012, Syria was one of the most dangerous places in the world for reporters, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The organization recorded 28 deaths in 2012, along with numerous kidnappings. This year has been no better.