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Syria Releases American Citizen Syria Releases American Citizen Held for 2 Months
(about 3 hours later)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — An American who was held captive in Syria for two months has been reunited with his family, his family said on Friday. BEIRUT, Lebanon — An American who was held captive in Syria for two months has been reunited with his family, his parents said on Friday.
There was almost no information available on Friday about how the American, Sam Goodwin, 30, came to be in Syria or how he was detained. His family said in a brief statement that Abbas Ibrahim, the head of Lebanese internal security, had helped mediate his release. The American, Sam Goodwin, 30, had traveled to Syria as part of a personal quest to visit every country in the world, according to a person familiar with the details of his case.
“We are grateful to be reunited with our son Sam,” Mr. Goodwin’s parents, Thomas and Ann Goodwin, said in a statement. “Sam is healthy and with his family.” There was no information available on Friday about how Mr. Goodwin was detained, or by whom. His parents said in a brief statement that Abbas Ibrahim, the head of Lebanese internal security, had helped mediate his release.
“We are grateful to be reunited with our son Sam,” the parents, Thomas and Ann Goodwin, said in a statement. “Sam is healthy and with his family.”
They thanked Mr. Ibrahim, but declined to offer further details.They thanked Mr. Ibrahim, but declined to offer further details.
Mr. Goodwin had been held in Syria for about two months, according to a person familiar with the details. The Lebanese general security directorate did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to his website, Mr. Goodwin, who grew up in St. Louis, quit his job at a start-up company in Singapore last year with the goal of visiting every country in the world.
“I couldn’t be more grateful for the perspective on the world I’ve developed through my experiences,” he wrote on the site, Searching4Sam.
His family lost touch with him about two days after he had entered Syria, the person familiar with his case said. He was held in Syria for about two months, the person said. The Lebanese general security directorate did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to the website, Mr. Goodwin was raised Roman Catholic, the eldest of five children. He played varsity hockey at Niagara University in New York and graduated in 2012 with degrees in communications and French. He described himself as “an American expat, entrepreneur, former Division I athlete and world traveler.”
After graduation, he wrote, he and a friend moved to Singapore to work for a start-up. It was there that he began to travel widely, inspiring him to quit his job and see the world.
“Having spent the past seven years based in both Singapore and Dubai, I have traveled to 180 countries and am aiming to complete my quest to travel to all 193 within this calendar year,” he wrote this year.
A handful of Americans are being held in Syria, but most of their families have kept quiet about their status while they attempt to negotiate their release, making it difficult to track how many there are. Before Friday, Mr. Goodwin was not publicly known to be among them.A handful of Americans are being held in Syria, but most of their families have kept quiet about their status while they attempt to negotiate their release, making it difficult to track how many there are. Before Friday, Mr. Goodwin was not publicly known to be among them.
The best-known exception is Austin Tice, a freelance journalist and Marine veteran who had gone to Syria to cover the impact of the civil war on ordinary Syrians. A few days before he was due to leave the country in August 2012, he was detained at a checkpoint outside Damascus. He remains missing. The best-known exception is Austin Tice, a freelance journalist and Marine veteran who had gone to Syria to report on the impact of the civil war on ordinary Syrians. A few days before he was due to leave the country in August 2012, he was detained at a checkpoint outside Damascus. He remains missing.
Another is a clinical psychologist with dual American and Syrian citizenship, Majd Kamalmaz, who his family has said disappeared in Syria while on a trip to see relatives in Damascus in February 2017. He is believed to have been detained at a government checkpoint.Another is a clinical psychologist with dual American and Syrian citizenship, Majd Kamalmaz, who his family has said disappeared in Syria while on a trip to see relatives in Damascus in February 2017. He is believed to have been detained at a government checkpoint.
Both sets of parents have pleaded for President Trump to intervene; Mr. Trump has made a point of securing the release of American hostages around the world, including from Egypt and North Korea. But the United States has had no diplomatic relations with Syria since soon after the eruption of the country’s civil war, and must work through the Czech Republic’s ambassador in Damascus, who acts as a semiofficial diplomatic channel. Both sets of parents have pleaded for President Trump to intervene. Mr. Trump has made a point of securing the release of American hostages around the world, including from Egypt and North Korea. But the United States has had no diplomatic relations with Syria since soon after the eruption of the country’s civil war, and communicates with the government in Damascus through the Czech ambassador.
The Syrian civil war, now in its eighth year, has killed at least half a million people and forced about 11 million more to flee their homes.The Syrian civil war, now in its eighth year, has killed at least half a million people and forced about 11 million more to flee their homes.
A welcome page on Mr. Goodwin’s website says it includes a “database of the highlights and lowlights” of his travels, and notes, “there have been plenty of the latter.”