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This Photo Isn’t of Assad’s Cousin Hafez Makhlouf

This Photo Isn’t of Assad’s Cousin Hafez Makhlouf

Dirar Khattab Dirar Khattab   Tuesday 26th May 2020

Dirar Khattab Dirar Khattab   Tuesday 26th May 2020

Amid the crisis between Assad and his cousin Rami Makhlouf, Verify-Sy received a request to identify the man appearing in the photo below, widely circulated as a photo of Rami Makhlouf’s brother Hafez, a former intelligence officer of the Assad regime.

The request pointed out that a Google search of Hafez Makhlouf returns this photo (below). It was used in several reports on Hafez Makhlouf, such as here, here, here, here, and here.

Syrian dissident Ayman Abdulnour

In fact, the photo shows Syrian dissident Ayman Abdulnour. It is a screenshot from a CNN interview with him in 2011.

Abdulnour confirmed to Verify-Sy that he is the one in this photo, and stated that it was taken in the UAE.

An advanced search by Verify-Sy found an old photo of Hafez Makhlouf in which he appears with Bashar al-Assad’s brother Basel, as well as a screenshot of his civil record provided to us by Kulluna Shuraka’.

A source, asked to remain anonymous, who had contact with Hafez Makhlouf before the beginning of the Syrian Revolution in March 2011, confirmed that Hafez Makhlouf is the person who appears in these photos.

A source, asked to remain anonymous, confirmed that Hafez Makhlouf is the person who appears in these photos.

Makhlouf has been subjected to the U.S. and E.U. sanctions since 2011. However, he has won a legal bid to unfreeze $3.3 million held in bank accounts in Switzerland in Feb. 2012.



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Verify Media Platform (Verify) is an independent and unbiased platform specialized in fact-checking established in Syria in early 2016 to counter the spread of misinformation. We envision a democratic society that ensures citizens' right to access the truth without distortion or misleading. Verify is registered in Turkey as an NGO under the number 27-027-110 and the name “Doğru Medya Derneği” in late 2021. In addition, Verify is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checker Network (IFCN) and a trusted partner of Facebook in the MENA region since 2019.

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