CNN recently released a clip of Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward, which claimed to show footage of the moments a Syrian prisoner was freed. The video went viral, and many viewers accused CNN of staging the scene because the prisoner was unusually well-kempt and healthy for someone who claimed to have been detained for months. Now, the network is under even closer scrutiny after allegations that the man seen on the video is actually an officer in Syrian Air Force Intelligence who has been accused of war crimes.
CNN allegedly “rescues” Syrian war criminal
According to the New York Post, the prisoner whose rescue CNN highlighted has allegedly been identified as a Syrian Air Force Intelligence first lieutenant by fact-checkers Verify-Sy. Verify-Sy released a report that stated the man who identified himself as “Adel Gharbal” from Homs was identified as Salama Mohammad Salama, also known as “Abu Hamza.”
Residents of Homs have accused Salama, who ran a checkpoint in the Al-Bayyada neighborhood, of theft, extortion, and forcing locals to become informants. According to locals, Salama was in prison because he disagreed with a higher-ranking officer over keeping too large a share of extorted money and had been there less than a month when he was discovered.
The Verify-Sy report goes on to say that Salama killed civilians during the Syrian Civil War. He also allegedly detained and tortured numerous men for refusing to pay bribes, cooperate with his demands, or because he didn’t like the way they looked.
In the wake of his “rescue,” Verify-Sy says that Salama has deactivated his social media accounts and changed his phone number. Since Assad’s regime fell, he’s allegedly claimed he was forced into committing the crimes and was just following orders.
The New York Post received the following statement from CNN concerning the situation:
“We have subsequently been investigating his background and are aware that he may have given a false identity. We are continuing our reporting into this and the wider story.”
The network also claims that the segment wasn’t staged in any way.
