President Trump wrote to Syrian President Bashar Assad and asked for the release of journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared in 2012.
Trump sent a personal letter to Assad last month to make the request, but the Syrian leader has not responded, according to the Washington Post.
Trump publicly urged Syria to release Tice as the coronavirus swept across the globe in March.
“Syria, please work with us. We would appreciate you letting him out,” Trump said, later clarifying that he was not confirming the 38-year-old journalist was still alive.
“We’re trying to find that out,” he said. “If he is alive, we would like very much to get him back.”
Tice disappeared in Syria eight years ago while he was working as a freelance journalist. He illegally entered the country to report on the civil war, which was then in its second year.
He had planned to leave Syria in August 2012 but was detained at a checkpoint. Five weeks later, a video titled “Austin Tice still alive” was shared on a Syrian pro-government website. Tice was blindfolded and forced to recite a prayer Muslims say before dying.
Tice is believed to be in the custody of the Syrian government, which has not admitted to imprisoning him.
