- Published
US journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared in Syria in 2012, was kidnapped in a calculated operation which was more than a month in the planning, the BBC can reveal.
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BBC → publish → planning
A member of the group which detained Tice has also claimed the abduction was sanctioned by Syria's leader at the time, President Bashar al-Assad.
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abduction → detain → time
Tice was seen getting into a car with a driver he knew and trusted.
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he → see → driver
For years, many assumed they had stumbled upon a government checkpoint, and that the abduction of the journalist had been opportunistic.
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abduction → assume → journalist
But we have uncovered evidence that, in fact, his disappearance was anything but chance.
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disappearance → uncover → chance
In a new BBC podcast: Where is Austin Tice? Series 3 of I'm Not A Monster Presents, we reveal the findings of a years-long investigation into what happened to Tice, who had been reporting on Syria's civil war at the time.
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who → reveal → time
His case has been followed closely by international media and cited by successive US presidents.
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case → follow → presidents
Georgetown University law student Tice, who had served as a US Marines captain, was last seen in a video - blindfolded and in apparent distress - posted more than a month after his capture.
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who → serve → capture
As the regime fell 12 years later, tens of thousands of people emerged from the administration's prisons.
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thousands → fall → prisons
We obtained co-ordinates from an intelligence source for multiple locations US authorities suspected he could have been held at, and searched for him for more than a month, but found no sign of him.
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he → obtain → him
A former Syrian commander has said Tice was executed.
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Tice → say → ?
Others have questioned this account and no remains have been found.
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remains → question → account
But in the aftermath of the regime's collapse, we did uncover secret Syrian intelligence files on Tice - hundreds of pages of internal records providing the first definitive proof that it was the regime that had held the journalist.
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that → uncover → journalist
Two crucial questions remained unanswered, however: how exactly had Tice been taken in the first place?
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Tice → remain → place
We have spoken to a number of men from the regime involved in Tice's detention, and have reviewed recordings of discussions about it.
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We → speak → it
One man we spoke to, Abu Ali, is a former member of the National Defence Forces (NDF), a militia which was fiercely loyal to Assad.
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which → speak → Assad
He says the abduction operation began when Tice's driver - who multiple sources say had been passing the regime information for some time - told a senior NDF member that Tice was moving through rebel-held areas, reporting on the opposition.
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Tice → say → opposition
Tice had pushed into areas most journalists deemed too dangerous and was writing front-page stories for the Washington Post.
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journalists → push → Post
The Assad regime was cracking down on anyone highlighting its human rights abuses.
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regime → crack → abuses
We have been told the NDF member Tice's driver spoke to was Sakr Rustom - not just any NDF militia contact, but nephew of Bassam al-Hassan, one of Assad's most trusted security figures and head of the NDF.
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driver → tell → NDF
The information on Tice was passed up to Hassan, Abu Ali says, who is then said to have telephoned Assad.
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who → pass → Assad
"Bring him to us," Assad replied, claims Abu Ali.
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Ali → bring → us
Abu Ali says he was subsequently called into Hassan's office and told the president had approved the operation.
But Tice was not taken immediately.
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Tice → say → operation
The driver, Abu Ali says, suggested that he and the NDF continue watching him, to uncover more about what he was doing.
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he → say → what
"He trusts me," Abu Ali recalls the driver saying.
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driver → trust → me
Some time later, the driver reported back that Tice's actions seemed suspicious, Abu Ali says.
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Ali → report → ?
Tice, as a trained marine, would sometimes share his military experience with rebel fighters - according to several people we spoke to - and would correct fighters on how they used their weapons.
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they → train → weapons
To the men watching him, that behaviour made Tice look less like a journalist and more like someone from the CIA.
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Tice → watch → CIA
The BBC has found no evidence to suggest this was the case, and a former senior US official responsible for part of Tice's case has denied he was an intelligence officer.
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he → find → case
In the days before Tice vanished, the driver made one particularly brazen move while Tice was interviewing rebel fighters.
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Tice → vanish → fighters
He secretly took the American's backpack, containing his MacBook, a satellite transmitter and other personal items, for regime operatives to look through, multiple sources say.
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sources → take → MacBook
On 11 August 2012, Tice celebrated his 31st birthday at a rebel safehouse on the western edge of Damascus, a few miles from Assad's presidential palace.
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Tice → celebrate → palace
There was a swimming pool, Free Syrian Army fighters, Taylor Swift music and whiskey, Tice revealed in what would become his final tweet.
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what → be → ?
"Hands down, best birthday ever," he wrote.
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he → write → ?
Then came the time for Tice to leave Syria.
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Tice → come → Syria
He had told various people he was planning to take time out in Lebanon.
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he → tell → Lebanon
But he was not heading to safety.
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he → head → safety
He was heading to a state facility where Hassan had an office, in an area called Tahouneh on the outskirts of Damascus, according to several sources.
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Hassan → head → sources
Abu Ali was waiting there for Tice.
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Ali → wait → Tice
Abu Ali says Tice's driver told him that when he drew up to the gates, he pulled out a gun.
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he → say → gun
…and 24 more, not listed.
The Aporia
