Did CNN Fabricate the Story of "Freeing a Prisoner from a Secret Jail"?

On December 12, CNN published a video report on its website, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter) titled, "CNN Reporter Documents a Shocking Moment of Finding a Prisoner Held in a Secret Syrian Jail, Unaware of Assad’s Overthrow." In the footage, CNN’s correspondent Clarissa Ward is seen accompanied by an armed individual as they open a cell in a Damascus prison. The report features a man named "Adel Gharbal" from Homs, who claims he was arrested three months earlier for having his phone searched and was taken to Damascus, initially held in an unnamed prison before being transferred to the location shown in the video. According to the report, this transfer occurred three days after the fall of Assad's regime.

The man, hidden under a blanket despite the gunshots used to break his cell lock, claimed he had not seen sunlight for three months. However, his reaction to the light did not match such a claim—he did not flinch or blink even when gazing up at the sky, seemingly overjoyed at his newfound "freedom."
Despite the purported harsh treatment of detainees in secret prisons, Gharbal appeared clean, well-groomed, and physically healthy, with no visible injuries or signs of torture—an incongruous portrayal of someone allegedly held in solitary confinement in the dark for 90 days.

Clarissa Ward, whose presence in Damascus was reportedly tied to her search for any trace of missing American journalist Austin Tice, did not convincingly address why the prison was empty of other detainees, leaving "Adel Gharbal" as the sole prisoner. Gharbal alternated between trembling in fear and behaving calmly, raising further questions about the report’s authenticity.

Refute the claim

The Verify-Sy team searched public records for the name "Adel Gharbal" to verify the circumstances and duration of his detention but found no results. Gharbal, who claimed to hail from Homs and whose dialect supported this claim, prompted further inquiries in the city. The team discovered that his real name is "Salama Mohammad Salama," a revelation that brought shocking details to light. Salama, known as "Abu Hamza," is a first lieutenant in Syrian Air Force Intelligence, notorious for his activities in Homs. Residents of the Al-Bayyada neighborhood identified him as frequently stationed at a checkpoint in the area’s western entrance, infamous for its abuses.

Abu Hamza reportedly managed several security checkpoints in Homs and was involved in theft, extortion, and coercing residents into becoming informants. 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. This led to his detention in one of Damascus's cells, as per neighborhood sources.

Audio 1: A resident of Al-Bayyada (name withheld).

Despite his seemingly innocent and composed demeanor in the CNN report, Salama has a grim history. He participated in military operations on several fronts in Homs in 2014, killed civilians, and was responsible for detaining and torturing numerous young men in the city without cause or on fabricated charges. Many were targeted simply for refusing to pay bribes, rejecting cooperation, or even for arbitrary reasons like their appearance. These details were corroborated by families of victims and former detainees who spoke with Verify-Sy.

Note: Out of concern for the safety of victims and their families, Verify-Sy refrains from sharing their audio recordings.

Audio 2: Another resident of Al-Bayyada (name withheld).

In addition to his violent past, residents testified that Abu Hamza has been attempting to garner sympathy since the fall of the regime, claiming he was "forced" into committing his crimes. The Verify-Sy team also learned that he deactivated his social media accounts and changed his phone number, presumably to erase evidence of his involvement in armed activities and war crimes.

The Question Remains

As Syrians first and journalists second, we must ask: Did CNN deliberately mislead its audience to rehabilitate Abu Hamza’s image, or did it fall victim to misinformation? And if the latter, what led the network to this mistake, especially when Syrians have succeeded in exposing crimes and violations that the world at large has failed to document over decades?