Views: 13
New Syrian justice minister ‘oversaw execution of women for prostitution’ in 2015.
Footage has appeared online purportedly showing the justice minister in the new Syrian government, Shadi Al-Waisi, overseeing the execution of two women in Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province in 2015.
In one video, shared on Telegram and other platforms, a woman in the town of Maaret Misreen in Idlib province is shown surrounded by fighters next to a wall covered with writing saying “Jabhat Al-Nusra”, the name of the predecessor organisation to Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist group which spearheaded the rebel assault which overthrew Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad on 8 December.
A man believed to be Shadi Al-Waisi is seen at the beginning of the video, armed with a gun and apparently ordering the woman to kneel, as she begs for mercy.
She then kneels as one fighter recites verses from the Quran and says that there is “decisive proof” that she had committed adultery and engaged in prostitution, spreading “corruption on earth”.
Another fighter then shoots her in the head with a pistol and she falls to the floor.
The Syrian fact-checking site Verify-Sy rated the video as “confirmed” and said that voice analysis showed a high degree of match between recent interviews given by Al-Waisi and the man believed to be Al-Waisi in the 2015 video.
It also quoted a “high-level source” in the new Syrian authorities, which it didn’t name, as saying the man was indeed Al-Waisi, who at that time was serving as an Islamic judge in areas controlled by Jabhat al-Nusra.
‘We have passed this stage’
The source from the Syrian interim government told Verify-Sy: “This video shows the application of the law at a certain time and place… but we wish to point out that this act shows a stage we have passed.”
“It is not appropriate to publish or use this video to describe the current situation, given the change in circumstances. We confirm our solid legal and procedural commitment to the new principles and rules agreed by Syrians, which include justice and the rule of law,” the source added.
There have, however, been calls for the minister to resign or be held accountable after the video.
Syrian journalist and political activist Rami Jarrah told The New Arab, “Syrian Muslim communities do not correspond to this medieval behaviour… Moving forward this kind of backwards mentality that allows women to receive lashes or are executed in public squares must be rejected.”
He said that Al-Waisi should either admit “that his actions in 2015, and the system which he operated under were wrong”, or resign or be dismissed.
“The Syrian revolution [of 2011] set out with very clear goals of equality and democracy, its message was an inspiration to millions of Syrians and people of all nations around the world – that inspiration had nothing to do with this kind of behaviour,” Jarrah added.
In 2017, two years after the video appeared, Jabhat al-Nusra which was the Al-Qaeda extremist group’s affiliate in Syria, rebranded itself as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and severed all links with Al-Qaeda.
Since then the group has tried to present a more moderate image, saying it will respect the rights of women and religious minorities in Syria.
However, Al-Waisi also sparked controversy following a recent interview in which he claimed that most Syrians support the application of Islamic sharia law in Syria.