CNN says Clarissa Ward report on freed Syrian prisoner is not what it initially believed

CNN reporter says ‘very difficult to verify information in real time’ after prisoner turned out to be an ex-intelligence officer, not a civilian

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Reporter Clarissa Ward and a man who was freed after she and a Syrian rebel guard discovered him locked in a Damascus prison. Photo: CNN via AP

Published: 10:56am, 19 Dec 2024Updated: 10:58am, 19 Dec 2024

CNN is acknowledging that a gripping story it aired last week depicting a Syrian man being let free from a Damascus prison after the fall of dictator Bashar Assad’s regime was not what it seemed.

The network said that it has since found out that the man shown in correspondent Clarissa Ward’s report, which initially aired on December 11, apparently gave a false identity.

“This moment captures the complexity of the situation in Syria,” CNN’s Jake Tapper said on Tuesday.

In the report, Ward was being escorted by a Syrian rebel through a prison that had been run by the Syrian Air Force intelligence services and emptied since the Assad government fell. That’s what they thought, at least - until they came upon a padlocked door.

It was later revealed that the prisoner was a former intelligence officer for the Assad government. Photo: CNN via AP

The rebel guard shot the lock to open the door to a cell, where they found a man hiding under a blanket. Clearly bewildered and shaking, he gulped water when offered, said “oh, God, there is light!” when led outdoors and hugged the guard when told of the change in power.