Post by FaithWalker on Oct 9, 2008 7:06:45 GMT -6
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria says it is holding two missing American journalists for illegally crossing the border from Lebanon.
A Foreign Ministry statement says Holli Chmela, 27, and Taylor Luck, 23 were arrested Thursday after they crossed into the country with the help of smugglers.
It says the two will be handed over to the U.S. Embassy following a completion of "necessary measures."
The U.S. Embassy in Beirut announced Wednesday the two disappeared during a vacation in Lebanon and have not been heard from since Oct. 1, when they headed to northern Lebanon en route to Syria.
An official with the U.S. Embassy in Damascus confirmed two Americans are being held by Syrian authorities and added that the embassy was trying to confirm their identities.
Luck, of Oak Park, Illinois, has been a reporter at the Jordan Times for the past 18 months. He graduated last year from Beloit College in Wisconsin as an international relations major but also studied Arabic, said the school's public affairs director Ron Nief. He said the college awarded Luck a grant to return to Jordan for study.
Chmela worked as a clerk for The New York Times in Washington before leaving earlier this year to study Arabic in Jordan, according to Times' Bureau Chief Dean Baquet. In a memo to staff about the disappearance, he said she later took an internship with the Jordan Times.
She worked as an intern at the English-language daily for three months before leaving the job several weeks ago, the paper's chief editor, Samir Barhoumeh, said.
Barhoumeh said Luck, who speaks Arabic, had planned to go to visit the Syrian city of Aleppo after passing through Lebanon.
Luck's mother called Barhoumeh Saturday expressing concern, saying her son did not use his credit card since Oct. 1, he said.
A message left by the Associated Press at a phone listing for Luck's mother was not immediately returned Wednesday.
Chmela and Luck left their Beirut hotel Sept. 30 after a one-night stay, the hotel manager Nimr Shalala said. "They checked out, took all their belongings and didn't say anything," he told The AP.
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A Foreign Ministry statement says Holli Chmela, 27, and Taylor Luck, 23 were arrested Thursday after they crossed into the country with the help of smugglers.
It says the two will be handed over to the U.S. Embassy following a completion of "necessary measures."
The U.S. Embassy in Beirut announced Wednesday the two disappeared during a vacation in Lebanon and have not been heard from since Oct. 1, when they headed to northern Lebanon en route to Syria.
An official with the U.S. Embassy in Damascus confirmed two Americans are being held by Syrian authorities and added that the embassy was trying to confirm their identities.
Luck, of Oak Park, Illinois, has been a reporter at the Jordan Times for the past 18 months. He graduated last year from Beloit College in Wisconsin as an international relations major but also studied Arabic, said the school's public affairs director Ron Nief. He said the college awarded Luck a grant to return to Jordan for study.
Chmela worked as a clerk for The New York Times in Washington before leaving earlier this year to study Arabic in Jordan, according to Times' Bureau Chief Dean Baquet. In a memo to staff about the disappearance, he said she later took an internship with the Jordan Times.
She worked as an intern at the English-language daily for three months before leaving the job several weeks ago, the paper's chief editor, Samir Barhoumeh, said.
Barhoumeh said Luck, who speaks Arabic, had planned to go to visit the Syrian city of Aleppo after passing through Lebanon.
Luck's mother called Barhoumeh Saturday expressing concern, saying her son did not use his credit card since Oct. 1, he said.
A message left by the Associated Press at a phone listing for Luck's mother was not immediately returned Wednesday.
Chmela and Luck left their Beirut hotel Sept. 30 after a one-night stay, the hotel manager Nimr Shalala said. "They checked out, took all their belongings and didn't say anything," he told The AP.
Link