Travis Timmerman, a missing American from Missouri, was freed from a Syrian prison and found Thursday outside of Damascus, trying to make his way out of the country on foot. Photo by Mohammed Al Rifai/EPA-EFE
Travis Timmerman, a missing American from Missouri, was freed from a Syrian prison and found Thursday outside of Damascus trying to make his way out of the country on foot.
Timmerman was held for seven months after entering Syria illegally, spoke with multiple news outlets including CBS News and NBC News after he was found. Advertisement
He told CBS News that two men carrying AK-47s broke down his prison door Monday.
“My door was busted down, it woke me up,” Timmerman said. “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, there was no real fighting.”
Timmerman was believed to be missing but actually has been in a Syrian prison and was freed when Syria’s government fell to rebel forces.
He was found wandering barefoot. He said he had gone to Syria “for spiritual purposes.”
Speaking to CBS and the Al-Arabiya TV network Thursday Timmerman said he was never beaten in Syrian prison. But he said he could only be let out of his cell three times a day to use the bathroom rather than going when he wanted to. Advertisement
Citing a U.S. official, CNN reported that the U.S. is aware of Timmerman being added it would not share any further information at this time “out of respect for his privacy.”
“Out of respect for his privacy, we have no further information to provide at this time.”
Timmerman went missing in Hungary in May. He was imprisoned in Syria after first traveling to Lebanon and then to Damascus.
“I was on a pilgrimage to Damascus,” Timmerman told NBC News.
Timmerman said before being detained by Syria he spent three days without food and water in mountains between Lebanon and Syria. A border guard found him and took him into custody.
He said in prison in Syria he was well-fed and given water.
He described his time in prison as a time of solace and meditation and said he was stronger for it.
According to a Missouri Highway Patrol public awareness bulletin, Timmerman went missing in Budapest May 28th.
