American journalist Lindsey Snell has been arrested in Turkey and charged with violating a military zone, US officials have confirmed.
US state department spokesman John Kirby said Lindsey Snell was arrested earlier this month.
Lindsey Snell, a native of Daytona, Florida, recently posted on Facebook that she was kidnapped in July by Jabhat al Nusra, formerly al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, and had escaped.
The US said it was in touch with Turkish officials regarding the case.
Lindsey Snell is being held at a prison in the southern Hatay Province and US consular officials had visited her on August 26, John Kirby added.
According to her Facebook page, the American journalist had been living in Istanbul.
She describes herself on her Twitter page as a video journalist.
Lindsey Snell also has worked as a senior foreign correspondent and producer for Vocativ since March 2014, according to her LinkedIn page.
She also attended University of Florida and Fordham University’s School of Law, according to her social media profiles.
Lindsey Snell said in her most recent Facebook post on August 5 that she was held in a cave prison by militants even though she was given permission to film in their territory in Syria.
Her post said: “I must apologize to my friends and colleagues for all the pain and worry this caused you. I love you all, and I appreciate every effort made to secure my release.”
Lindsey Snell, who identified herself as Muslim, said she had been staying with the family of one of the militant group’s recent martyrs when she was “arrested.”
“Because of my unique situation, I was able to convince my captors to give me the use of a phone…which ultimately let me plan my escape, but which also let me document much of my captivity in photos and video,” her post continued.
On August 7, Lindsey Snell was taken into custody by Turkish authorities.
