The traveler tells the story of his two months held in Syria s notorious prisons, and how his family got a Lebanese official to help secure his release.
by Deborah Amos
February 4, 2021 - 1:39am
The traveler tells the story of his capture, the terrifying moments in Syria s notorious prisons, and his release with the help of a Lebanese official.
by: Deborah Amos Sam Goodwin s first day in captivity was one of his worst. This was the point where I was incredibly terrified, he recalls about his ordeal. I felt like I had committed suicide but I was still alive. A few hours earlier, on May 25, 2019, Goodwin was detained at a Syrian army checkpoint in the northeast part of the country. A truck pulled up and two armed men jumped out and told me to get inside. I did not have a choice, Goodwin says.
MORE American Sam Goodwin was captured and imprisoned in Syria in 2019 when he was 30 years old. Photo by NPR - Katherine Blanner
Sam Goodwin s first day in captivity was one of his worst. This was the point where I was incredibly terrified, he recalls about his ordeal. I felt like I had committed suicide but I was still alive.
A few hours earlier, on May 25, 2019, Goodwin was detained at a Syrian army checkpoint in the northeast part of the country. A truck pulled up and two armed men jumped out and told me to get inside. I did not have a choice, Goodwin says.
Katherine Blanner
Originally published on February 4, 2021 8:07 am
Sam Goodwin s first day in captivity was one of his worst. This was the point where I was incredibly terrified, he recalls about his ordeal. I felt like I had committed suicide but I was still alive.
A few hours earlier, on May 25, 2019, Goodwin was detained at a Syrian army checkpoint in the northeast part of the country. A truck pulled up and two armed men jumped out and told me to get inside. I did not have a choice, Goodwin says.
Goodwin, from St. Louis, was 30 when he was trapped in Syria s notoriously brutal prison system for 62 days. He s one of the few Americans who have been there and now, after his family and Lebanese intermediaries helped secure his release, he s telling his story.