Society

Two videos have resurfaced. They show Syria's new Minister of Justice taking part in the street execution of two women in 2015 while he was “judge”, for acts of vice. 

We won't be showing the horrific videos from 2015. They've been unearthed by the fact-checking site Verify-Sy. What they show is particularly barbaric and revolting. These smartphone-filmed facts show that the new minister participated at least twice in executions, before his very eyes, of women accused of committing adultery or prostitution. At the time, he was a judge for Jabhat al-Nosra, the Syrian branch of the terrorist group al-Qaeda. It was under his authority, after the sentence had been recited, that an executioner - always the same one - shot the women dead as they knelt on a public highway. Swift “justice” in the middle of the street in the town of Maarat Misrin and the village of Hafsarajah.

Official response

The Syrian authorities haven't reacted to the publication of these videos. However, a senior official who wished to remain anonymous confirmed the presence of Shadi al-Waisi. According to him, he's “applying the law [in force at the time] at a specific time and place”. The Syrian representative is also keen to point out that “this process reflects a stage that we have passed”. He thus claims that the new Syrian leadership wants to draw a line under past practices with the “new rules and principles agreed by Syrians guaranteeing justice and the rule of law”. Nevertheless, voices are already being raised demanding Shadi al-Waisi's resignation, or at the very least an official mea culpa for this behavior.

(MH with Olivier Duquesne - Source : 7sur7.be & Verify-Sy - Picture : © picture alliance / Anadolu | Nabiaha al Taha)