In Verified Footage, New Syrian Justice Minister Presided Over Woman’s 2015 Execution  

The woman kneels on the pavement, waiting for a bullet to the back of her head. She has been convicted of “corruption and prostitution.” Standing behind her is Shadi al-Waisi, who currently serves as minister of justice in the Syrian interim government led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, known until last month by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. The footage is from January 2015, when Jolani was serving as the leader of Jabhat al-Nusra, the al-Qaeda branch in Syria. At the time, Nusra ruled an enclave in northwest Syria, where Waisi served in a series of positions in the courts. In 2017, Nusra rebranded itself as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). 

Since toppling the Bashar al-Assad regime last month, Jolani has sought to portray himself as a moderate and called for removing HTS from the U.S. and UN terrorism blacklists, as well as lifting Western sanctions on Syria. The execution footage thus confronts Jolani with a dilemma: Does he oust Waisi to demonstrate that summary executions on religious grounds are now anathema? Or does he stand by a lieutenant who remained loyal during the lean years of the war against Assad?  

Syrian Researchers Verify Footage, Damascus Government Concurs 

Arabic language networks originally broadcast the execution footage in January 2015. After it began recirculating on social media over the past few days, Verify-Sy, a Syrian fact-checking organization, announced its confirmation that Waisi is the man in the video. It said it had used “technical tools” to match Waisi’s voice and facial features with those of the presiding official.  

The organization did not reach a final conclusion regarding a second execution video, also originally from January 2015, in which a man resembling Waisi appears to preside over a woman’s shooting. When Verify-Sy reached out to the government for commentary on the video, an unnamed official acknowledged that the footage showed Waisi, while adding that the executions “were carried out in accordance with the laws in effect at that time” but not at the present time.  

Justice Minister Claims ‘90 Percent’ of Syrians Want Sharia Enshrined in National Law 

In an interview with the Emirati network Alaan on January 1, shortly after Assad’s overthrow, Waisi was asked about his public statement that “We pray that Allah helps us implement the sharia.” The network’s reporter noted concerns that this could mean forcing Christians to pay the religious tax known as jizya. Waisi responded that 90 percent of Syrians are Muslim, and the new parliament will implement their wishes, “Therefore, implementing the sharia will play a major role in coming days.” He added, “The state will not impose anything on the people.”  

There are no precise estimates of how many Syrians subscribe to particular faiths. The Christian population may be roughly 10 percent, but the remainder includes the Kurdish, Druze, and Alawite communities, which do not subscribe to HTS’s harsh version of Sunni Islam. Syria also has many vocal advocates of secular or “civic” government, although there is no reliable estimate of their numbers either. 

For Western Policy, Patience and Caution Are in Order 

To prevent the emergence of an Islamist dictatorship, the United States and its allies should proceed cautiously as they engage with the Damascus government and review the applicability of sanctions. While Jolani and HTS have feuded with al-Qaeda, they never repudiated what it stands for. In addition, the HTS coalition that overthrew Assad includes multiple organizations with close ties to al-Qaeda and others that are on the U.S. terror blacklist. It is incumbent on the new government to demonstrate that it will neither become a terrorist sanctuary nor deprive Syrians of the opportunity to choose their own form of government after the fall of Assad. 

David Adesnik is vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from David, subscribe HERE. Follow David on X @adesnik. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.