[A former Syrian intelligence officer was freed from a Damascus jail by rebels, but the man’s true identity has been revealed to be Adel Ghurbal, a lieutenant in the Assad regime’s Air Force Intelligence Directorate, Salama Mohammad Salama. The discovery was made by CNN journalists, who initially found the man while investigating the disappearance of US journalist Austin Tice.
The man claimed to be an ordinary citizen who had been imprisoned for three months, but an image obtained by CNN confirmed his real identity. Facial recognition software matched the man with a photograph of Salama, which was taken while he was on duty in a government office in Homs.
Residents of Homs identified the man as Salama, who was known for running the Air Force Intelligence Directorate’s checkpoints in the city and had a reputation for extortion and harassment. It is unclear how or why Salama ended up in the Damascus jail, but CNN has not been able to reestablish contact with him.
Rebel guards freed the man and handed him over to the Syrian Red Crescent, which later returned him to his relatives in Damascus. Salama’s current whereabouts are unknown.
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