Syria’s interim justice minister has come under scrutiny following the resurfacing of old videos reportedly showing him reading execution sentences in Idlib.
The videos, verified by the fact-checking network Verify-sy, appear to show Shadi al-Waisi reading the execution sentences of two women charged with “corruption and prostitution” in 2015.
“The platform Verify-sy conducted a thorough verification process using specialised technical tools to match the features and tone of voice clearly heard in at least one of the videos, with the features and voice of [Justice] Minister Shadi al-Waisi, who had recently appeared in several filmed interviews,” the network said in a statement.
“The results showed a high degree of match, despite the poor quality of the circulated recordings.”
Verify-sy also reached out to several parties in the new Syrian government, with an anonymous senior official confirming that the man in the videos is Waisi.
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The source said Waisi was a judge at the time. The Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)-led government has not commented on the footage.
#FactCheck A video claiming to show Syrian Minister of Justice Shadi al-Waisi reading execution sentences has circulated online. After thorough verification, including voice and facial matching, it was confirmed that the person in the video is indeed al-Waisi, who was a judge at… pic.twitter.com/0SbfhsTZ1e — تَـأكّـدْ (@VeSyria) January 4, 2025
“The content of the video presented to us documents the enforcement of the law at a specific time and place, where the procedures were carried out in accordance with the laws in effect at that time and as part of a procedural agreement,” the source said.
“However, we would like to point out that this process reflects a stage we have moved beyond in light of the current legal and procedural transformations, which makes it inappropriate to generalise it or use it to describe the current stage, given the differing circumstances and references.”
The resurfaced footage has been met with widespread criticism online from many Syrians who were previously critical of Bashar al-Assad and his government.
“If [HTS leader Ahmed] al-Sharaa opposes punitive measures of this nature, he needs to signal this to the hardline Islamists in Syria who aspire for it,” Syrian journalist Rami Jarrah wrote on X.
Some have questioned whether such punitive measures will be permitted under Syria's new administration, while others have called for Waisi to be removed from office.
hahalol412 on January 6th, 2025 at 08:11 UTC »
They want sanctions removed.
In steps and over time. Always on probation and every year they have a review to see what impovements they have done. Release just 1-2 sanctions per year. If they fucked up or didnt progress reinstate sanctions. Its simple. Its not a free dinner.
macross1984 on January 6th, 2025 at 08:02 UTC »
The new government has two choices. One is to quickly replace him with another official that is more palatable to the west or they can ignore and keep him.
My bet is he will retain justice minister position.
HotSteak on January 6th, 2025 at 07:50 UTC »
While HTS says the right things in press conferences, naming a guy like this "Justice Minister" seems to say a lot about who they really are.