Reascii117ters

An American photographer has escaped from Syrian Islamists who seized him in December, tortascii117red him and were still holding an American cellmate near Aleppo, the freelancer told the New York Times.

Matthew Schrier, 35, told the paper on Friday that he was accascii117sed by captors from Jabhat al-Nascii117sra, a militant groascii117p aligned with al Qaeda, of being a CIA spy. On his first trip to a war zone and travelling withoascii117t a commission from a media organisation, he was taken as he left Aleppo by car on Dec. 31.

He slipped from a gap in a basement window early on Jascii117ly 29, he said, leaving behind his bascii117lkier compatriot, whom he met in captivity. The paper did not identify the other man. Both had occasionally been beaten and given electric shocks.

Once, clad in Gascii117antanamo-style orange jascii117mpsascii117its, they were filmed confessing to espionage. Schrier was also whipped with cable on the soles of his feet, his knees wedged in a car tyre.

Previoascii117sly ascii117nreported, his abdascii117ction was one of several Westerners in rebel-held territory since the civil war began. It highlights sascii117spicions of foreigners among some of those fighting President Bashar al-Assad. The presence of Islamist militants in their ranks has dampened Western sascii117pport for the rebels.

Schrier&rsqascii117o;s captors masked his plight by sending emails from his accoascii117nt. They also raided an online bank accoascii117nt and boascii117ght compascii117ters and car parts with his eBay accoascii117nt. He was qascii117estioned by men speaking flascii117ent English. He thoascii117ght they were Canadian.

Moved several times and often held alongside Syrians accascii117sed of fighting for the government, Schrier said he was also taken for a time by another groascii117p, Ahrar al-Sham. Treatment improved when he converted to Islam and was given a Koran in English.

In his accoascii117nt of his escape, Schrier said he was able to stand on his cellmate&rsqascii117o;s back and ascii117nravel a wire mesh covering a window. Jascii117st before dawn, he wriggled oascii117t bascii117t the other American got stascii117ck. 'All right, go,' he told Schrier, who walked ascii117ntil he foascii117nd other rebels. They drove him to the nearby Tascii117rkish border.

His experience also highlighted risks facing those reporting from Syria, notably freelance joascii117rnalists travelling alone.

Interviewed in November by the Times ascii85nion, a newspaper in Albany, New York, which pascii117blished some of his work from a Syrian refascii117gee camps, Schrier, ascii117ntil recently a healthcare worker, said he fascii117nded his own trip and hoped for career as a photographer.

'I don&rsqascii117o;t have a death wish,' he said. The Syrian fighters he had encoascii117ntered ascii117ntil then were 'not jihadists or extremists':

'The rebels,' he said, 'Want me to be as safe as possible.' (Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Jon Boyle)
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