CNN Is Investigating Whether a Man It Thought Was a Prisoner and Helped Rescue From a Syrian Dungeon Could Actually Have Been a Torturer for the Assad Regime

CNN is investigating the identity of a prisoner whom its crusading star reporter, Clarissa Ward, helped rescue, with cameras rolling, from a secret Syrian dungeon after the fall of the brutal Assad regime. A Syrian fact-checking organization now claims the man was actually a notorious torturer for the now fallen government.The segment, which was filmed in a prison at Damascus shortly after the fall of the Assad regime, captures Ms. Ward, CNN’s “chief international correspondent,” along with an armed Syrian rebel, stumbling upon a man alone in a jail cell. The prisoner, who was huddled beneath a blanket, identified himself as “Adel Gharbal” from Homs and claimed he had been arrested three months ago by intelligence agents.During the scene, which Ms. Ward later described as “one of the most extraordinary moments” she had ever “witnessed” in her 20 years as a journalist, the prisoner can be seen clutching the arm of a visibly stunned Ms. Ward, who, along with the guard, helps escort the man outside. The prisoner, who claimed that he had no idea that Assad’s government had collapsed, was freed by the rebel fighters, given a meal, and taken away by EMTs.Now, however, an independent Syrian fact-checking organization, Verify-Sy, is poking multiple holes in the man’s story, beginning with his suspicious behavior and appearance during the segment. The group suggests that the man’s “clean, well-groomed and physically healthy” appearance, “with no visible injuries or signs of torture” doesn’t line up with what would be expected of someone held for 90 days in solitary confinement in a prison known for “harsh treatment” of its detainees.Further, his reaction to seeing the sun — without flinching or blinking — “does not match” the response from someone who hasn’t seen daylight in three months, the organization claims.Suspicious, the organization launched an investigation into the man’s purported identity, and could not find “Adel Gharbal” listed in any public records. Rather, the group alleges, locals identified the man as a first lieutenant in the Syrian Air Force Intelligence whose real name is “Salama Mohammad Salama” or “Abu Hamza.”The prisoner reportedly managed several security checkpoints in Homs and was “involved in theft, extortion, and coercing residents into becoming informants.” The group cites Salama’s “grim history” including his alleged participation in military operations in Homs in 2014, during which he killed civilians and was responsible for detaining and torturing young men “without cause or on fabricated charges” often targeting those who refused to pay bribes, or even over “arbitrary reasons” like their appearance. “These details were corroborated by families of victims and former detainees who spoke with Verify-Sy,” the group notes.Additionally, according to the residents who identified him, the man was actually only incarcerated for less than a month and was imprisoned over a “dispute over profit-sharing from extorted funds with a higher-ranking officer.”CNN, which says it stationed correspondents in Syria to look for the missing American journalist who was kidnapped while reporting in 2012, has since responded to Verify-Sy’s report, saying they are “aware” that the prisoner may have given a “false identity” and noted that they would be launching an investigation into his background. “We are continuing our reporting into this and the wider story,” CNN stated.CNN also blamed the Syrian guard for any problems with the story.“No one other than the CNN team was aware of our plans to visit the prison building featured in our report that day,” CNN stated. “The events transpired as they appear in our film. The decision to release the prisoner featured in our report was taken by the guard — a Syrian rebel. We reported the scene as it unfolded, including what the prisoner told us, with clear attribution.”The Syrian jail story is the latest imbroglio for CNN’s once vaunted international reporting corps. Ms. Ward — who is married to a German count and is regularly feted with awards and honors for her courageous reporting in war zones — may be its most celebrated journalist still in the field.CNN is also currently embroiled in an embarrassing lawsuit in Florida brought by a veteran, Zachary Young, accused in a piece by CNN’s “chief national security correspondent,” Alexander Marquardt, of being part of an exploitative black market. The lawsuit is now in the discovery phase, and star host Jake Tapper recently refused to divulge his salary in a deposition CNN’s lawyer called “a freak show.” The lawsuit appears headed for trial on Florida’s conservative panhandle.CNN also had to retract a report in 2017 linking then-Trump supporter Anthony Scaramucci to unsavory Russian entities. CNN fired multiple staff producers associated with the report.

CNN Is Investigating Whether a Man It Thought Was a Prisoner and Helped Rescue From a Syrian Dungeon Could Actually Have Been a Torturer for the Assad Regime

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