WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- American journalist Lindsey Snell said on Wednesday that Syria’s chargé d’affaires in Washington, Mohamed Qanatari, participated in her 2016 abduction by the Al-Nusra Front in northern Syria, revelations that have renewed scrutiny over officials serving in Syria’s diplomatic service.
Snell made the revelation after posting archival footage on X of an interview she conducted with Qanatari shortly before she was kidnapped while reporting on Syria’s conflict in 2016.
According to Snell, Qanatari was a member of the Al-Nusra Front at the time and later joined the foreign ministry of Syria’s current administration led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Qanatari currently serves as Syria’s chargé d’affaires in Washington, representing Syria’s interests in the absence of a formally accredited ambassador.
In the video posted by Snell, Qanatari appears wearing a face covering in front of an Al-Nusra Front flag while discussing the group’s objectives. Snell said that although he concealed his identity during the interview, she later identified him by his voice, eyes and manner of speaking.
Snell, an American freelance journalist, was kidnapped in northern Syria in 2016 while covering the war. She escaped after being held for more than two weeks. She has long maintained that Qanatari was directly involved in her detention by the Al-Nusra Front, which at the time was Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria.
In July 2016, shortly after Snell’s abduction, the Al-Nusra Front announced it was changing its name to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, saying it was severing its formal ties with Al-Qaeda. The group later became part of the alliance that evolved into HTS, which now leads Syria’s administration led by former Al-Qaeda and Daesh deputy Abu Muhammad al-Jolani. 
The revelations surfaced as Syria’s takfiri regime seeks to expand diplomatic engagement with the United States. Qanatari has represented Syria in Washington which has embraced Jolani wholeheartedly.
Snell said she plans to release a second installment of the footage from her 2016 interview, which she said contains additional material related to Qanatari and the circumstances surrounding her kidnapping.
She has promised that the second release will provide further documentation of his role, potentially including exchanges that directly link him to the planning of her abduction.