Video Surfaces of Syria’s New Justice Minister Overseeing Executions of Women in 2015
At the time, Shadi al-Waisi was enforcing Sharia law in areas controlled by al-Nusra Front, the al-Qaeda affiliate that was a predecessor to HTS | Videos have surfaced online of Syria’s new justice minister, Shadi al-Waisi, overseeing the execution of two women in 2015 over charges of adultery and prostitution. ● Al-Waisi is part of the new Syrian government led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which took power after ousting former President Bashar al-Assad on December 8. ● Verify-Sy, a fact-checking organization, confirmed that it was al-Waisi in the two videos that emerged online. In one video, al-Waisi is seen reading a ruling that the woman was found guilty of “corruption and prostitution” and sentencing her to death. ● In the other video, al-Waisi appears to be carrying a gun and tells a woman to sit down as she’s pleading for her life. Once she moves down, another armed man shoots her in the head. ● At the time, al-Waisi was working as a “judge” enforcing Sharia law in areas of Syria’s northwest Idlib province that were under the control of the al-Nusra Front, the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria that merged with other Islamist groups in 2017 to form HTS.