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The prisoner freed by CNN was a former Assad intelligence officer involved in killing and torturing civilians; the report claims.
The prisoner, Salama Mohammad Salama, was a first lieutenant in the Syrian Air Force Intelligence, serving under former President Assad.
Salama is allegedly responsible for killing civilians, torturing young men in Homs on fabricated charges, and participating in theft, extortion, and coercing residents into becoming informants.
He allegedly took part in military operations on multiple fronts in Homs in 2014.
He was found by CNN’s Clarissa Ward under a blanket in a Damascus prison, where he identified himself as a “civilian father” named Adel Gharbal.
CNN has launched an investigation into his true identity.