A man CNN described in a viral report as a rebel prisoner of deposed Syrian President Bashar Assad’s totalitarian regime has turned out to be a notorious ex-intelligence officer for the former leader’s government.
Last Wednesday, the network covered the “startling discovery” of a rebel fighter who “uncovered a hidden prisoner still unaware of Assad’s ouster.”
However, the outlet disclosed Monday that it had discovered the supposed civilian was, in reality, Salama Mohammad Salama, a lieutenant in Assad’s Air Force Intelligence Directorate. While the Syrian Red Crescent, a medical relief organization, indicated it had sent Salama to relatives in Damascus, the former Assad spy’s current whereabouts are unknown, the network revealed.
It is not yet clear how or why Salama ended up in the Damascus jail, and CNN said it has failed in its attempts to “reestablish contact with him.” They added that residents of Homs, where he was based, accused Salama “of having a reputation for extortion and harassment.”
A Syrian fact-checking group reported that locals said Salama ended up in prison due to disputes with his colleagues about “profit sharing.”
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“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,” Verify-sy reported Sunday, citing “neighborhood sources.”
Syrian rebel forces overthrew Assad’s government earlier this month. The former dictator fled to Russia for refuge after having led Syria since 2000.
