CNN said that it is investigating whether a man who said he was a Syrian prisoner in a report from chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward last week may have given a false identity.
“Since this report was published, CNN has continued to look into the background of the prisoner featured in it,” said a statement posted on the video of the report. “CNN is now aware that he may have given a false identity. We are continuing our reporting into this and the wider story.”
Last week, Ward and her team visited a prison building at the Syrian air force intelligence headquarters in Damascus. They were searching for missing American journalist Austin Tice, and 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 was 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.
A CNN spokesperson said, “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. 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.”