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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has responded to news about a prisoner CNN helped free from a secret Syrian facility, who later turned out to be a notorious torturer for the Assad regime.
A Syrian man, freed from a secret facility with CNN’s assistance, has now been revealed as a torturer for the Assad regime, according to a report by Verify-Sy. Last week, footage emerged of CNN journalist Clarissa Ward leading the man to freedom from a Damascus jail in Syria. Ward called the viral moment “one of the most extraordinary moments I have witnessed” in her 20-year career. Verify-Sy, an independent fact-checking group, identified the man as Salama Mohammad Salama, a first lieutenant in Syrian Air Force Intelligence. The group claims Salama committed war crimes and tortured people who refused to pay bribes.
Musk’s reaction
American activist and former music director Robby Starbuck reacted to the news by posting a New York Post article titled ‘Prisoner CNN helped free from Syrian prison was actually notorious Assad regime torturer: report on social media platform X, writing: “You don’t get more CNN than this.”
Musk reposted Starbuck’s tweet, adding two exclamation marks, “!!”
Social media users quickly joined the conversation, mocking CNN in Musk’s comment section. One user wrote, “Never expected anything from CNN that would be honest and full of integrity.” Another comment read, “They literally become the memes we make for them…” Another user joked, “Amazing humanitarian work, @CNN!”
The viral prisoner
The man, initially identified as Adel Ghurbal from the Syrian city of Homs, was found alone in a locked cell during CNN’s search for missing journalist Austin Tice. This discovery occurred when CNN journalist Clarissa Ward and her team, along with a rebel guard, opened a padlocked cell in a Damascus jail.
The man claimed he was unaware of the regime’s collapse and said he had been kept in the cell for three months, adding that it was the third prison where he had been confined.
However, new evidence obtained by CNN suggests the man is actually Salama Mohammad Salama, a lieutenant in the Air Force Intelligence Directorate. A Homs resident provided CNN with a photograph of a man said to be Salama in a government office. Facial recognition software reportedly confirmed a 99 percent match with the man CNN encountered. Homs residents also identified the man as Salama, known as Abu Hamza, alleging that he oversaw checkpoints and had a reputation for extortion and harassment.
It remains unclear why Salama was in the prison.
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