Viral Syrian ‘prisoner’ found by CNN crew cowering in cell ‘was fleeing Assad officer pretending to be regime opponent’

Many were targeted simply for refusing to pay bribes, rejecting cooperation or even for arbitrary reasons like their appearance."

Verify-Sy said

Despite the purported harsh treatment of detainees in secret prisons, Gharbal appeared clean, well-groomed and physically healthy, with no visible injuries or signs of torture."

The site, a part of Poynter's International Fact-Checking Network, said

Oh God, there is light

The so-called imprisoned civilian was found trembling under a blanket before being freed by the team, exclaiming

We have subsequently been investigating his background and are

the spokesperson said

I hope they're brought to justice,

Mohammed said of his captors

I called out that I was sick and need the toilet, but nobody came,

Mohammed said

The moment comes when you lose all hope,

said Mohammed, his beard and dark hair closely cropped

That was five and a half months ago,

Mohammed told AFP

Now you're number 3006.

They took away his papers, ... he said, and told him

One night they brought us out of the cells and lined us all up in the corridor, tied to each other. Two rows of 14 prisoners. We could see each other for the first time, and assumed we were going to die,

he said

They told me to confess that my brother had joined the rebels,

he said

But I was in there for 35 days. Or maybe it was 32, I no longer remember very well,

Bajbouj said

I was one of those they interrogated the most,

Darwish told AFP of his ordeal in 2018.

We had to scrub clean the torture areas and toilets, and drag the dead from the cells,

said Bajbouj, who is still frail and said that this was his first time near the building since his release

They charged me with terrorism,

42-year-old Wael Saleh said

They told us our stay at the Palestine Branch was just for a question and answer session,

he said

When the door closed behind us, we were plunged into the depths of despair. This cell was witness to so much tragedy,

he said

He weighed 85 kilos (187 pounds) when he arrived, and was just 50 when he got out,

he said

Maybe they took the prisoners to Iran to use them as bargaining chips with the rebels,

Jamil Ali Al-Abbaa said, rifling through the muddied pages Thursday evening

I told them: ‘I saw him with my own eyes. How are you telling me he’s not alive now?’

she recalled, her cheeks wet with tears