Sen. Patrick Leahy is calling on Syrian authorities to free a Vermont student detained while he shot photographs at a demonstration.
Pathik "Tik" Root is a Middlebury College student from Ripton who was studying Arabic in Damascus, and has been missing since March 18.
Speaking on the Senate floor Thursday, Leahy said the 21-year-old Root is being held in a Syrian jail and that Syrian authorities won’t let anyone from the American consulate in to see him.
Leahy says Root is an innocent U.S. citizen who poses no threat to the Syrian government and should be released.