American journalist accuses Syrian chargé d'affaires to US of playing role in her 2016 abduction

American journalist Lindsey Snell has accused Mohammed Qanatri, Syria's current chargé d'affaires to the United States, of involvement in her 2016 abduction by the terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra. Snell, who was reporting from Aleppo at the time, claims Qanatri, then a member of Nusra and a university student, escorted her to various military sites and hospitals before her capture.

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We are Muslim groups, Muslim people trying to protect people from Assad regime, from Russian militias, to establish an Islamic country in Syria, Islamic state in Syria… an Islamic state is Islamic controlled by Sharia alone.

Snell was embedded with a faction of the Free Syrian Army and was assured that Nusra was aware of and accepted her presence. She alleges that Qanatri facilitated her access to sensitive locations and eventually agreed to a masked interview. During this interview, the masked individual, identified by Snell as Qanatri, discussed the group's aims to establish an Islamic state and defended suicide bombings.

Shortly after the interview, Snell was abducted by Nusra militants. She stated that Qanatri's final words to her were to inform her of her impending move to a jail cell. Snell later escaped her captors after two weeks but was subsequently arrested and deported by Turkish authorities. She expressed disbelief at Qanatri's appointment as Syria's diplomat to the U.S., questioning claims of his reformation.

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I saw Mohammed several times in the first days of my captivity. His final words to me were to tell me that the Nusra militants holding me wanted me to move from the sitting room into a jail cell in the basement. My response was not positive, and shortly after, Nusra moved me to a real prison, and then all these years later, I saw that Qanatri was appointed Syria’s diplomat to America.

Snell sarcastically commented on the idea of reformation, drawing parallels to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's alleged transformation. She highlighted that the new Syrian regime has implemented vague legislation that she believes is used to suppress dissent, suggesting that Qanatri's past actions should not be easily dismissed despite his diplomatic role.

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Who doesn’t do dumb stuff in their 20s? Some people party too much. Some people stay in bad relationships, and some people fight to establish an Islamic state.