Our new investigation looks into a key commander in Syria’s new army. Sayf Boulad Abu Bakr was sanctioned for links to the trafficking and the abuse of Kurdish women.

We heard horrific testimonies from survivors as well as a former member of Boulad’s militia, and we analyzed video from their time as forcibly disappeared women.

Boulad was appointed by President Ahmad Al Sharaa to lead one of three military divisions in Aleppo, the very province where his men allegedly held the women in captivity and subjected them to severe abuse.

W/ @goodwinallegra @Ssirgany @o_featherstone @elizamackintosh Christian Streib

cnn.com/interactive/as… He isn’t the only person appointed high-ranking commander in the new Syrian army. Seen in the photo published by the Syrian Presidency on June 4, in a meeting between Sharaa and ‘defense ministry leaders’ are Boulad AbuBakr, as well as Abu Amsha and Ahmad Hayes, all accused of egregious crimes by the US and others.

New from the @CNN intl investigations team:

Israeli whistleblowers speak out about the desert camp of Sde Teiman where 100s of Palestinians arrested in Gaza have been held. Denied the right to see, to speak, and with severe restrictions on movement.
edition.cnn.com/2024/05/10/mid…
At the field hospital, wounded detainees are shackled to their beds, blindfolded, naked except for a diaper, said the whistleblowers. “What I felt when I was dealing with those patients is an idea of total vulnerability,” said a medic.

Here's a 3D reconstruction of the hospital

New investigation: we explored Israel's ghost list of items that are being arbitrarily denied access to Gaza since October 7.

These include: Anesthesia machines, oxygen cylinders, crutches, solar panels, ventilators and water purification tablets.
cnn.com/2024/03/01/mid…
@goodwinallegra and I spoke to over 24 sources in the multi-billion-dollar aid effort for desperate Gazans. @nimaelbagir and @ArvanitidisCNN traveled to Jordan where they spoke to high-level sources and had rare access to warehouses stacked with aid held up by Israeli redtape.

NEW IRAN REPORT: we uncover a central component of the crackdown on the Mahsa Amini uprising -- a proliferation of secret jails where protesters were tortured into submission.
w/ @ArvanitidisCNN @nimaelbagir @FaribaSahraei @ArtemisChats @GianlucaMezzo edition.cnn.com/interactive/20… These black sites exist outside of what little due process the Islamic Republic still affords, enabling unfettered cruelty.

Over 4 months we heard of the same torture methods repeatedly -- rape, molestation, flogging, electrocution and even drugging.

(map design by @Henrikkp)

In a 2-month investigation, CNN uncovered sexual violence against male and female protesters, including boys, in Iranian detention centers. w/ @nimaelbagir @ArvanitidisCNN @plattberger @ArtemisChats @GianlucaMezzo @celinealkhaldi @Henrikkp @sgmankarious edition.cnn.com/interactive/20… @nimaelbagir @ArvanitidisCNN @plattberger @ArtemisChats @GianlucaMezzo @celinealkhaldi @Henrikkp @sgmankarious Video editing by Mark Baron. Digital editing by @LauraSSpark

THREAD: I'm going to wade into the debate about @ferashatoum 's investigation which links the ammonium nitrate responsible for the #Beirut blast to 3 Syrian businessmen on a US sanctions list. I have tried to mirror the open-source investigation, with the help of expert friends. I have a few outstanding comments:

1) Hatoum premises his singling out of HESCO Engineering (linked to Syrian businessman #1, Haswani) on the idea that of the 73 active company listed on the address, only one had the traits of an active company: HESCO. This is simply not true.

A Chilean search and rescue team in Beirut say they have detected a possible heartbeat of a body under the rubble of a building destroyed by the August 4 blast. If true, then that would mean that the person would have been stuck under the wreckage, alive, for 29 whole days. Crowd of journalists and residents watching the rescue operation speaking in hushed tones. Rescue team has asked for silence so they can better hear through the life detector listening system they say has detected heartbeats.

Our investigative piece into Lebanon's #Kenya consul, tasked with the protection of some of the most vulnerable migrant women in Lebanon. Instead he is accused by multiple Kenyans of exploitation, assault, and coercion to pursue sex work. edition.cnn.com/2020/07/28/mid… One Kenyan woman I spoke to said the consul slapped her and shoved her around when she asked to be reimbursed for repatriation fees she believed her overcharged her for. The consul later called the police on her and got her arrested, although a consulate official denied it.