According to a startling local fact check, the prisoner CNN assisted in releasing from a secret facility in Syria was reportedly actually a notorious member of Bashar al-Assad’s forces who was known to torture those who refused to pay him off.
Last week, the network went viral with footage of the astonished prisoner being led from the prison by journalist Clarissa Ward.
Ward referred to the moment as “one of the most extraordinary moments I have witnessed” in her 20 years of reporting.
However, a detailed report published on Sunday by “independent and unbiased” fact-checkers Verify-Sy revealed that the apparent innocent prisoner was actually Salama Mohammad Salama, a first lieutenant in Syrian air force intelligence with a lengthy history of alleged war crimes.
The CNN story from last week depicted Ward and a camera crew, who were escorted by a rebel fighter, visiting a former Syrian air force intelligence headquarters in Damascus.
“Syria is free.”
Extraordinary moment as @clarissaward and her team witness a Syrian prisoner freed from a secret prison in Damascus.
Left alone for days without food, water or light, the man was unaware Bashar al-Assad’s regime had fallen. pic.twitter.com/ZAnGiBlLON
— CNN International PR (@cnnipr) December 11, 2024
They were able to free a man who had been discovered under a blanket and locked in a windowless cell.
His name was Adel Ghurbal, and he claimed to have been apprehended by government officials three months prior. He also stated that he was unaware of the Assad regime’s collapse.
The man’s appearance was incongruous, as he appeared well-groomed and physically healthy, with no visible injuries or indications of torture.
This was in stark contrast to the allegations that he was held in solitary confinement in the dark for 90 days.
The outlet stated that Verify-Sy subsequently discovered that there was no trace of an Adel Ghurbal in the region, which led to his true identity, Salama.
Local residents informed the fact-checkers that Salama was involved in thievery, extortion, and coercing residents into becoming informants for Assad; he worked at multiple security checkpoints in Homs.
Verify-Sy reported that he also killed civilians during the Syrian civil conflict in 2014 and allegedly detained and tortured young men on bogus charges, many of whom refused to pay bribes.
According to local residents, he was in the prison where he was discovered for less than a month as a result of a disagreement with a high-ranking officer regarding the distribution of the extorted money.
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