CNN Says Man Who Identified Himself As Syrian Prisoner Was In Fact An Intelligence Officer — Update

UPDATED: CNN ‘s Clarissa Ward said that a man identified in her report as a prisoner under the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad, the deposed dictator, was in fact an intelligence officer. “We can confirm the real identity of the man from our story last Wednesday as Salama Mohammed Salama,” Ward wrote on X. Last week, Ward and her team visited a prison building at the Syrian air force intelligence headquarters in Damascus as they searched for missing American journalist Austin Tice.

The visit to the prison was unannounced, according to the network. When they entered the facility, they were followed by a guard, a Syrian rebel. As they looked around, they noticed that a cell was locked from the outside, and asked the guard about whether there was anyone there.



The guard shot the lock off the door, and the CNN crew followed him inside. The report showed a man inside the cell, hiding under a blanket. He asked for water, which the CNN team provided to him.

The man told them his name was Adel Ghurbal and that he was from Homs. He said that he had been arrested three months ago and had been in three different jails, and the report detailed how he was unaware of the overthrow of Assad. The humanitarian group Red Crescent arrived soon after and took the man away, and posted later on social media that he had been dropped off at a relative’s house.

The report drew widespread attention as a dramatic moment after the fall of the Assad regime. But on Sunday, the site Verify-Sy raised questions about the report, suggesting that he was in fact Salama Mohammad Salama, also known as Abu Hamza, a first lieutenant in Syrian Air Force Intelligence. “According to locals, his recent incarceration—lasting less than a month—was due to a dispute over profit-sharing from extorted funds with a higher-ranking officer,” Verify-Sy reported.

“This led to his detention in one of Damascus’s cells, as per neighborhood sources.” The site included photos from the CNN report and Salameh in military uniform. CNN said today that it obtained a photo that showed the man’s real identity.

The network reported that local residents of Homs identified the man as Salama, and that “he was known for running the Air Force Intelligence Directorate’s checkpoints in the city and accused him of having a reputation for extortion and harassment.” A CNN spokesperson said earlier today, “No one other than the CNN team was aware of our plans to visit the prison building featured in our report that day. 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.” CNN attached a note to online versions of its report, notifying viewers that it was investigating.

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