Former US hostage Matt Schrier tells of red-tape 'nightmare' after release
US photographer captured by jihadis for seven months claims father was not told by authorities
An American taken hostage by Syrian jihadis for seven months until he escaped has revealed how the US government never told his father he had been kidnapped, waited six months to produce a wanted poster, and allowed jihadists to empty his bank account of US$17,000 with eBay purchases.
Matt Schrier, 36, a freelance photographer who was held by extremists for seven months last year, said that the bureaucracy he endured upon his return home was a second kind of nightmare following the months of abuse he suffered while he was a hostage.
As well as failing to inform his father of the kidnapping and delays in producing the wanted poster, Schrier said the government made him reimburse the State Department US$1,605 for his ticket home just weeks after he arrived in the United States.
The psychiatrist assigned to help him readjust cancelled five appointments in the first two months. And when he had no means to rent an apartment, FBI victims services recommended New York homeless shelters.
"I never thought it would get this bad," Schrier said.
The FBI declined to comment on the specifics of Schrier's complaints but said in a statement that "when an American is detained illegally overseas, the FBI's top priority is ensuring the safe return of that individual".