White House: No Ransom Paid for Release of US Hostage in Syria
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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — No ransom was paid for the release of American journalist Peter Theo Curtis, who was freed Sunday after being held hostage for two years by Syrian terrorist group Jabhat Al-Nusrah, the White House said Monday.
“Providing ransoms to terrorist organizations only gives those terrorist organizations more funds and resources. It also makes American citizens more likely targets to terrorist organizations,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Monday.
Earnest added that the U.S. urged Qatar not to pay a ransom either as it helped negotiate the release.
Curtis was handed over to United Nations peacekeepers in Al Rafid village in the Golan Heights Sunday evening, local time, according to the U.N. He received a medical check-up before he was handed over to U.S. officials.
Curtis’ family had been working with the State Department over the past two years to bring Curtis home.
“My heart is full at the extraordinary, dedicated, incredible people, too many to name individually, who have become my friends and have tirelessly helped us over these many months,” said Theo’s mother, Nancy Curtis. “Please know that we will be eternally grateful.”
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