An American who had been held for several months in a Syrian prison has been freed after rebels overthrew the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Travis Timmerman was found by residents near the capital, Damascus, after walking free from jail earlier this week. He said he had been detained seven months ago after crossing into the country by foot on a pilgrimage.
Timmerman had been reported as missing in May, having last been seen in the Hungarian capital, Budapest.
Timmerman was taken to the foreign ministry
EMIN SANSAR/GETTY IMAGES
Timmerman said he had sneaked into Syria from Lebanon on a “religious pilgrimage” to Damascus. “I heard the word of God,” he explained.
He ended up in a prison known as the “Palestinian Division” in the Syrian capital, and was held in a separate ward until Monday