Syria: presented as a “civilian”, the detainee saved by CNN is a former lieutenant of the intelligence services who hid his identity

The scene was too beautiful. Dispatched to Damascus, just freed from the yoke of Bashar Al Assad, to find her American friend Austin Tice, imprisoned in a secret Syrian prison since his arrest in 2012, reporter Clarissa Ward rushes into one of these institutes penitentiaries where torture and repression were legion. The “chief international correspondent” of the CNN channel, accompanied by a group of armed individuals, discovered a suspicious form there, buried under blankets, at the bottom of a cell. A man approaches, pulls the pile of pieces of fabric and discovers what appears to be an inmate. All filmed by the CNN camera and under the eyes of an astonished Clarissa Ward.

Several sequences follow, where the journalist takes him out of the prison, tells him that the regime has fallen, brings him water and questions him about his journey. The individual claims to have been arrested by the Mukhabarat, the Syrian military intelligence service, and interrogated to give the names of terrorists. The fate of “Adel Gharbal”, this Syrian prisoner from “city of Homs”in the west of the country, and in cell “for three months”at the center of a report broadcast Thursday, December 12, then went viral.

“Theft, extortion and coercion against residents”

However, this is not the case, according to the Syrian fact-checking media Verify-sy. The investigation site reveals, in a counter-investigation published Sunday, December 15, that “Adel Gharbal” lied about his identity and his conditions of imprisonment. It is, in reality, Salama Mohammad Salama, first lieutenant of the Syrian Air Force intelligence services.

Known as Abu Hamza, he operated several security checkpoints in the city of Homs and was “involved in theft, extortion and coercion of residents to become informants”summarizes Verify-sy. According to residents of the Al-Bayada neighborhood interviewed by the investigative media, his incarceration – “which lasted less than a month” – is due to a dispute with a higher-ranking officer, against a backdrop of sharing of profits from the extorted funds.

As soon as the CNN report was broadcast, the chance of this encounter, like the physical state of “Adel Gharbal” (clean, without apparent injury and in good physical health), challenged several spectators. Clarissa Ward does not seem surprised that the latter is the last inmate to remain captive in the prison, several days after the fall of the regime, Sunday December 8. “The man, hiding under a blanket despite the gunshots used to force the lock on his cell, claimed he had not seen sunlight in three monthscastigates the Syrian media. However, his reaction did not match this statement: he did not flinch or blink, even as he looked up at the sky, seemingly delighted with his new “freedom”. »

Above all, “despite his seemingly innocent and calm demeanor in the CNN report”Verify-sy reveals that Abu Salama participated in military operations on several fronts in Homs in 2014. Operations during which he killed civilians and was responsible for the detention and torture of many young men, for no reason or based on fabricated accusations.

“Many were targeted simply because they refused to pay bribes or cooperate, or even for arbitrary reasons such as their appearanceannounces the fact-checking site. These details were corroborated by victims’ families and former detainees who spoke with Verify-Sy. » The investigative site subsequently got its hands on a photo showing Abu Salama, dressed in a military uniform, in his office.

These revelations lead to new questions: Did Clarissa Ward and her film crew know? How far did Abu Hamza go to appear as a civilian detainee, unrelated to the authoritarian regime of Bashar Al Assad? Asked by her CNN colleagues about her feelings during the filming of this report, Clarissa Ward explained: “Witnessing such a surreal moment, seeing a person in a state of absolute joy on one side and completely traumatized on the other, is something none of us will be able to forget. » Future clarifications on this matter could call into question this “so surreal moment”.