On December 8th, 2024, rebels swept into Damascus and ousted Syria’s dictator, Bashar al-Assad. One of the first things they did was open up the prisons. Syrians who disappeared years earlier began to emerge from their grim detention cells. Would missing American journalist Austin Tice be among them?

In a new three-part series on The Weekend Intelligence, Middle East correspondent, Gareth Browne investigates what happened to Austin. It’s an attempt to shed some light on a decade of darkness, in one of the most mystifying and oppressive dictatorships of the modern era. A story that could only be reported since the fall of Assad.

In episode one, Gareth tells the story of Austin’s time in Syria leading up to his capture.

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