The released prisoner rescued from a Syrian prison by CNN was a member of Bashar al-Assad’s forces who killed and tortured civilians, the broadcaster has confirmed, while journalist Clarissa Ward is being criticized by critics.
The detainee, whose real name is Salama Mohammad Salama, was found last Wednesday by CNN’s chief international correspondent Ward and her team while visiting an abandoned detention center.
The man, who was locked in a windowless prison cell, was discovered under a blanket and identified himself as a “civilian” named Adel Gharbal in a chilling video released by the network.
But earlier this week, Syrian fact-checking organization Verify-Sy reported that the man in the clip was in fact a senior first lieutenant in the Syrian Air Force intelligence service who served under former President Assad.
CNN launched an investigation into the man’s identity and confirmed Verify-Sy’s claims last night.
Ward wrote on X: “We can confirm the real identity of the man from our story last Wednesday as Salama Mohammed Salama.”
In a statement, CNN said a resident of the Syrian city of Homs gave them an image of the same man sitting at a desk in what appears to be a government office, wearing a military uniform.
This was fact-checked with facial recognition software which showed that the image of the man rescued from the cell in Damascus was a 99 percent match with the officer.
The released prisoner rescued from a Syrian prison by CNN was a member of Bashar al-Assad’s forces who killed and tortured civilians, the broadcaster has confirmed.
Clarissa Ward confirmed the real identity of the released prisoner in an X-post last night
Citing local sources, CNN added that Salama was “known for running Air Force Intelligence checkpoints in the city” and was accused of having “a reputation for extortion and intimidation.”
Syria’s fact-checking organization said Salama had killed civilians and was responsible for detaining and torturing young men in Homs on trumped-up charges, the organization claimed, citing residents.
They then accused Salama of involvement in “theft, extortion and forcing residents to become informants,” and said he had taken part in military operations on several fronts in Homs in 2014.
CNN said it is not certain how he ended up in Damascus prison, but Verify-Sy said he had been locked up for less than a month.
The broadcaster also said his whereabouts are currently unknown.
Now that the prisoner’s real identity has been revealed, Ward and CNN are being condemned by critics.
One X user wrote: “This is a totally shabby event for CNN. Maybe take some responsibility for how long you allowed this outrage to continue?’.
Another message read: “This is an insanely weak non-retraction from CNN.”
Others called the reporter a “liar” and wondered how the man’s apparently recently trimmed beard didn’t raise doubts.
“You weren’t the least bit curious as to why he was well cared for and not dirty, were you?”
Others, however, defended CNN and Ward.
“I don’t think she had any malicious or deceitful intentions, and I don’t see any benefit in having a dog catch her for cheating on the inmate,” one X account said.
Others thanked Ward for her transparency and for clearing up CNN’s mistake.
‘You get a lot of nasty reactions here, but I thank you for being honest. You’ve been cheated on… it happens. It’s about being transparent about it,” one post said.
Meanwhile, another You were just doing your job and couldn’t possibly have known.’
Ward was touring the detention center where countless civilians were tortured and beaten to death when her team apparently came across a cell that was still locked.
A Syrian rebel guard reportedly shot open the prison cell door and found the prisoner shaking under the blanket.
Ward provided food and water to the man, who claimed he had not seen sunlight in three months, and was then led outside.
But Verify-Sy questioned the report, noting that the alleged prisoner did not flinch or blink as he looked skyward for what was believed to be the first time in months.
‘Despite the alleged harsh treatment of prisoners in secret prisons, Gharbal appeared clean, well-groomed and physically healthy, with no visible injuries or signs of torture – an incongruous image for someone reportedly held in solitary confinement in the dark for 90 days ‘ Verify-Sy.
After further investigation, Verify-Sy said it could not confirm Gharbal’s identity, but after speaking to locals in Homs, it was able to identify him as Salama Mohammad Salama or Abu Hamza.
CNN had launched an investigation into the viral moment when reporter Clarissa Ward and her team came across a man locked in a cell in one of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s infamous prisons.
“Residents of Al-Bayyada neighborhood said he was regularly stationed at a checkpoint at the western entrance to the area, notorious for abuses,” Verify-Sy reported.
“Many were targeted simply because they refused to pay bribes, rejected cooperation or even for arbitrary reasons such as their appearance,” the organization claimed.
Since the start of the Syrian revolution in March 2011, more than 157,000 people have been arrested or forcibly disappeared, including 5,274 children and 10,221 women, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights.
The detainees included protesters, human rights defenders, political dissidents, doctors treating demonstrators or opposition members, as well as their relatives.
More than 1,500 people died under torture, which included electrocuting genitals or hanging weights; burning them with oil, metal rods, gunpowder or flammable pesticides; crushing heads between a wall and the prison cell door; inserting needles or metal pins into bodies; and depriving prisoners of clothing, bathing and toilet facilities, the Human Rights Network said.
The worst appeared to be Sednaya prison, outside Damascus, which was the size of 184 football stadiums and surrounded by two minefields.
A 2017 Amnesty International report found that thousands of people died in mass hangings in Sednaya, which it called a “human slaughterhouse.”
Between 20 and 50 people were killed every week, usually on Monday and Wednesday evenings. Amnesty estimated that between 5,000 and 13,000 people were executed between September 2011 and December 2015.