Daniel Rye

Speaker Daniel Rye is a Danish freelance photographer who was reporting from Syria in hopes of raising awareness of the conflict and the horrible living conditions of the civilians there. Shockingly, it ended up with him being taken hostage by the terror organization Islamic State in Syria (ISIS).

For 13 months, speaker Daniel Rye was held hostage by ISIS together with 23 other western hostages. He was the very last hostage to be released from Islamic State’s notorious prison in the Syrian city Raqqa. After negotions as to a ransom, Daniel was released on the 19th of June 2014. Throughout that summer, IS killed the rest of the hostages, Daniel’s fellow prisoners – including American James Foley. James was the first victim of the videotaped executions by IS – a video that went around the world. During their time as hostages, James Foley and Daniel Rye became close friends. In the end, Daniel was the one to memorize and present Foley’s farewell to his family.

For his own security, speaker Daniel Rye’s time as a hostage was first made public after his release. While Daniel was held captive, his family collected the money for the ransom. The circle who knew the secret grew larger and larger, a dangerous risk to run. Now speaker Daniel Rye openly tells about his experience in hopes of inspiring others to see the resilience and survivial instinct we all have.