US – RSF and partners launch “Night Out for Austin Tice” to bring home American journalist detained abroad
On May 2, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and its partners will launch Night Out for Austin Tice, a new initiative to bring home the American journalist who has been held in Syria for almost seven years.
Seventy-three restaurants around the country will donate a portion of the revenue they make on May 2 to the $1 million FBI reward for information leading to the safe return of Tice, an award-winning journalist and former Marine Corps Captain who was detained on August 14, 2012 while covering the unfolding civil war in Syria.
“We are incredibly grateful to the National Press Club for spearheading this initiative and galvanizing so many restaurants around the country to participate in Night Out for Austin Tice,” said Noni Ghani, Communications Manager for RSF’s North America bureau. “We have hope that raising awareness of Austin’s case and increasing the FBI reward will yield concrete information leading to his safe return. Austin has now been detained for almost seven years. It’s time to reunite him with his family.”
Partners of the initiative include The National Press Club, The Washington Post, Committee to Protect Journalists, The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the Newseum, and McClatchy. Restaurants in fourteen states including Washington, DC, will participate. Visit nightoutforaustin.com to learn more and find a restaurant near you.
The United States ranks 48th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2019 World Press Freedom Index. Syria ranks 174 out of 180.
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