CNN admits the man released in the viral segment was likely a “notorious” Assad regime torturer with a “dark history.”
CNN admitted Monday that it was misled by a man the network initially reported in a viral segment as a Syrian prisoner freed from a secret prison.
Clarissa Ward’s news story on CNN went viral last week when she reported on the alleged rescue of a “Syrian prisoner” who she said had spent “three months in a windowless cell” in one of the Assad regime’s secret prisons. station called it “One of the most extraordinary moments I have ever experienced” in her journalistic career. However, the man appeared to be in good condition for someone locked up in a terrible prison and not given food or water for several days, raising questions about the superficial narrative.
Ward confirmed that the man was indeed Salama Mohammad Salama, also known as Abu Hamza, who was a senior lieutenant in the Syrian Air Force’s intelligence agency. CNN report said he was known for extortion and harassment, while a local Syrian fact check said he was even known for committing torture and murder.
“We can confirm the true identity of the man in our story last Wednesday as Salama Mohammed Salama,” Ward posted on X to caption a CNN report on the ordeal.
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CNN’s Clarissa Ward offered the man water while the network’s cameras rolled. (CNN/Screenshot)
“CNN initially found the man while following up on leads about missing US journalist Austin Tice. In a video report, chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward and her team, accompanied by a rebel guard, came across a cell in a Damascus prison that was padlocked. “Outside, the guard blew the lock with a gun and the man was left alone in the cell a blanket was found,” CNN reported.
“When he came outside, the man appeared confused. When questioned by the rebel fighter who freed him, the man identified himself as Adel Ghurbal from the central Syrian city of Homs,” CNN continued. “An image obtained by CNN on Monday now points to the man’s true identity – said to be a lieutenant in the Assad regime’s Air Force Intelligence Directorate, Salama Mohammad Salama.”
CNN reported that a Homs resident “gave CNN a photo purporting to show the same man while he was on duty, apparently in a government office,” and his identity was confirmed using facial recognition software.
“The photo shows him sitting at a desk, apparently wearing military fatigues. CNN is not publishing the photo to protect the source’s anonymity,” CNN reported, adding that “several Homs residents said the man was Salama, also known as Abu Hamza.” But it was “unclear how or why Salama ended up in prison in Damascus and CNN was unable to re-establish contact with him.”
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CNN admitted Monday that it had been misled by a man it initially reported was a Syrian prisoner freed from a secret prison. (CNN/Screenshot)
Verify-Sy, a subsidiary of the Poynter Institute that also runs PolitiFact, initially reported that the man had provided false information.
“Salama, known as ‘Abu Hamza’, is a first lieutenant in the Syrian Air Force Intelligence and notorious for his activities in Homs. Residents of the Al-Bayyada neighborhood identified him as one who was frequently stationed at a checkpoint at the western entrance to the area, for which he is notorious for his abuses,” Verify-SY reported.
“Abu Hamza reportedly ran several security checkpoints in Homs and was involved in theft, extortion and coercing residents to become informants,” Verify-SY continued. “According to locals, his recent detention – which lasted less than a month – was due to a dispute over sharing of profits from extorted funds with a senior official. This led to his imprisonment in a Damascus cell, according to sources close to the area. “
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Verify-SY reported that the prisoner was actually Salama Mohammad Salama, also known as Abu Hamza, a senior lieutenant in the Syrian Air Force’s intelligence agency who was notorious for torturing young men. (CNN/Screenshot)
The report said Salama had a “dark history” and “took part in military operations on multiple fronts in Homs in 2014, killing civilians.” He added that he was “responsible for the imprisonment and torture of numerous young men in the city without any reason or on contrived charges.”
“Many were targeted simply because they refused to pay bribes, refused to cooperate, or even for arbitrary reasons such as their appearance. This information was confirmed by families of victims and former detainees who spoke to Verify-Sy,” the report said.
David Rutz of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
