Travis Timmerman, an American who was reported missing, was found alive in Syria following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime on Thursday.
In a post to X/Twitter, CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer said, “We found Travis Timmerman from Urbana, Missouri - an American prisoner liberated from one of Assad’s most notorious prisons. He’s fine. A bit dazed. Didn’t realize the regime had fallen until this morning.”
We found Travis Timmerman from Urbana Missouri - an American prisoner liberated from one of Assad’s most notorious prisons. He’s fine. A bit dazed. Didn’t realize the regime had fallen until this morning. pic.twitter.com/kuQmWfp0nA
— Elizabeth Palmer (@CBSLizpalmer) December 12, 2024
The 29-year-old from Missouri told CBS News that he was freed from a Syrian prison on Monday after being detained seven months ago for entering the country without permission.
"My door was busted down. It woke me up," Timfdmerman said regarding his release by rebel fighters, who broke down his door with a hammer.
On Sunday, prisons in and around Damascus were opened, allowing thousands of prisoners to walk free. Since the civil war began in 2011, security forces in Syria have detained hundreds of thousands of individuals in detention camps, where international human rights organizations report that torture was a widespread practice.
"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."
Prison 'wasn't too bad'
Timmerman told CBS News that he had gone to Syria for Christian "spiritual purposes" and that his experience in prison "wasn't too bad."
"I was never beaten. The only really bad part was that I couldn't go to the bathroom when I wanted to. I was only let out three times a day to go to the bathroom," he said.
After initial moments of fear and doubt that he was truly free, Timmerman told CBS News that he left the prison on foot along with a large group of former prisoners. He told CBS News he had been trying to head towards Jordan.
"I'm feeling well. I've been fed, and I've been watered, so I'm feeling well," Timmerman said.