These recordings by the American broadcaster CNN caused an international stir. During an on-site inspection of an abandoned secret prison in Syria, a reporter came across a man wrapped in a blanket who claimed to have been held in solitary confinement for three months and gone without food for days. Now CNN is investigating numerous allegations that the report could be false.
The TV team led by CNN journalist Clarissa Ward was actually looking for traces of the American Austin Tice, who was still missing in Syria, together with rebels. During this search the ‘shocking discovery’ was made. The ‘forgotten’ prisoner said he was a family man from Homs named Adel Gharbal. He begged for mercy, begged for water, and as he was escorted out by a Syrian rebel and Ward, he gasped and kept repeating, “O God, there is light.”
Great skepticism after ‘shocking find’
As soon as the photos emerged, there was skepticism on social media about the ‘shocking find’. All suspicions have now been collected by the Syrian fact-checking platform Verify-Sy and subjected to further analysis, including interviews with the man’s alleged acquaintances. Those responsible at Verify-Sy were amazed that, despite the days of darkness he was said to have lived in, the man could openly look into the light without blinking. Furthermore, he showed no signs of abuse or torture on his body.
Although Verify-Sy could not determine the prisoner’s identity 100 percent, they were able to locate several people in Homs who identified the man as Salama Mohammad Salama or Abu Hamza, it was said. He is said to be a former lieutenant in Bashar al-Assad’s military intelligence service. He is accused of violence against civilians, extortion, theft and even murder. He is said to have ended up in prison after an argument with a superior over extorted money.
CNN spokesperson: “Freedom” of man is not foreseen
Now he wants to win the sympathy of the new rulers by making false claims and stating that he was forced to do all the acts he was accused of, the fact-checkers quoted the witnesses interviewed.
A CNN spokesperson told The Daily Beast that the report on the man’s “release” was not fabricated or falsified in any way. “Everything happened as we depicted it.” However, the spokesperson suggested that the inmate “may have provided false information” to the reporter. The matter will be further investigated and reported.
The Assad family had ruled the country with an iron fist for more than fifty years. Bashar al-Assad took over power in the country from his late father Hafiz al-Assad in 2000 and with it an apparatus of prisons and detention centers in which dissidents were locked up. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 100,000 people have died in Syrian prisons, often as a result of torture.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
