Social media accounts posted a photo showing former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein with soldiers, claiming that he was found in the Syrian prison of Sednayah. The photo was accompanied by the following claim: “Saddam Hussein found in Sednayah prison.”
Kashif verified the image via “Google Images” tool, and found that it was manipulated and that the claim was misleading. The original image dates back to the arrest of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili at his residence in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, in 2017. Part of the image was cropped and replaced with a picture of Saddam Hussein. The flag on the soldier’s shirt was also manipulated, as the original image shows the Ukrainian flag, while the circulated image shows the Syrian flag.
On 5/12/2017, BBC published the photo in a report with the following title: “Saakashvili was arrested in Kiev. But his supporters stopped him and took him to the Rada.” The description reads: “The Ukrainian Security Service said that Saakashvili was arrested in connection with a case of aiding members of criminal organizations.”
Radiosputnik published the photo on 5/12/2017 in a report titled: “Saakashvili suffers from personal political crisis.” The website stated that “the leader of the New Forces Movement party, Mikheil Saakashvili, was arrested in Kiev after threatening to jump from the roof of a house.” It was stated that the photo was taken by “Valentin Ogirenko” for Reuters.
Saddam Hussein was executed at dawn on Saturday, 30/12/2006, after the Iraqi High Criminal Court issued its ruling on 29/11/2006 to execute him after he was arrested by American forces and handed over to the Iraqi government at the time.
The Association of Detainees and Missing Persons in Sednayah Prison confirmed on 9/12/2024 that the prison was empty of detainees in all its buildings, the white and the red, and stated that the last detainee left on 8/12/2024 at 11:00 AM Damascus time. Detainees were released from al-Assad’s regime prisons after the Syrian opposition factions announced control over all cities and the overthrow of al-Assad’s rule following during “Deterrence of Aggression” operation which began on 27/12/2024.
| Sources of Claim | Sources of Verification |
Omar Al-Saedi Hicham Chreif Hussein Khalifa Khaled ObeidaT Ali Al-Shammari | BBC radiosputnik Al Jazeera Association of Detainees and Missing Persons of Sednaya Prison |