Assad regime releases American man held captive

Assad regime has released a US citizen and he has been handed back to his family, thanks to the mediation of Lebanon, a Lebanese security official said on Friday (July 26).

The security official did not give the name of the released American, but he was later identified as Sam Goodwin, 30, from St Louis, Missouri.

“Sam is healthy and with his family,” his parents Thomas and Ann Goodwin said in a statement. “We are forever indebted to Lebanese General Abbas Ibrahim and to all others who helped secure the release of our son.”

The statement gave no other details, saying, “Right now, we appreciate our privacy as we reconnect with Sam.”

A spokeswoman for the family said Goodwin had traveled to Syria “as part of a personal interest to travel and experience every country of the world” and was last heard from on May 25.

The Lebanese security official said the country’s security chief Abbas Ibrahim had conducted the mediation. While not identifying Goodwin as the person released, the official said it was not Austin Tice, a journalist who disappeared in Syria in 2012.

The US State Department said it was aware of reports a US citizen had been released but could not comment due to privacy considerations.

Last year the family of another American, Majd Kamalmaz, told the New York Times he had disappeared at a checkpoint in Damascus in 2017.

Based on Reuters