The man presented in a CNN report by journalist Clarissa Ward as a civilian imprisoned and released after spending three months in a cell in Syria is in reality a former member of the regime’s army, according to local sources.
These are images that have gone around the world after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regimein Syria. While searching for an imprisoned American journalist, CNN reporter Clarissa Ward came across a man who was still locked up in one of the Syrian dictator’s secret jails. He did not seem to be aware of the fall of the regime and said he had spent several weeks in this cell. Except that the identity of this man quickly raised questions.
In an article published this Monday, December 16 on its website, the leading American media indicated that the man, presented in this report which went viral as an imprisoned civilian and victim of the Syrian regime, would in reality be a former officer of the army of the fallen leader.
Many questions raised
“In my nearly twenty years of career, this was one of the most extraordinary moments I have witnessed,” Clarissa Ward commented on her social networks about her report.
Except that this experienced journalist accustomed to war zones (she is the only Western reporter to have filmed inside Gaza since October 2023, defying the information blockade of the Israeli army) appears to have been trapped.
Because as soon as the CNN images were published, doubt hovered over the authenticity of this report. Many questions arise: “How come only his cell was not opened when this prison was liberated? Why did the man not react when his door was forced? Why just- Does he have so little water when Clarissa Ward hands him her canteen? Why doesn’t he blink more when he sees the sunlight, when he is supposed to have been plunged into darkness for? three months? Why, finally, his beard, her clothes and her nails seem particularly well maintained after several weeks of detention?” questions Libération’s Checknews service.
His identity revealed by Syrian fact-checkers
On Sunday, December 15, the Syrian media Verify-Sy affirmed that it was Salama Mohammad Salama, a former corrupt officer of the Bashar al-Assad regime. “Residents of the Al-Bayyada neighborhood identified him as being frequently positioned at a checkpoint at the western entrance to the area, infamous for his abuses,” writes this source, cited by Libération.
According to Verify-Sy, Salama Mohammad Salama is also responsible for acts of “torture” against young men in the city of Homs in 2014. “Many of them were targeted simply because they refused to pay bribes, to cooperate or even for arbitrary reasons such as their appearance”, affirms this media, member of the international fact-checking network IFCN.
The identity of the real-false prisoner was confirmed by CNN on Monday evening. The media even claims to have obtained a photo of Salama Mohammad Salama sitting at his desk, in military uniform.
After the publication of the report, the man was in any case taken into care by the Syrian Red Crescent. He was able to reunite with members of his family in Damascus, indicated the organization on.
Beyond the question of the real identity of this man, CNN also refuted any staging before the publication of its article. “No one other than the CNN team was aware of our intention to visit the prison building featured in our reporting that day. The events unfolded as they appear in our “The decision to release the prisoner was made by the guard – a Syrian rebel. We reported the scene as it happened, including what the prisoner told us, with clear attribution.” a spokesperson for the media outlet told CheckNews.
