The video of Syria’s Justice Minister purportedly overseeing the execution of two women under Al Nusra Front's interpretation of Sharia in Idlib during the civil war has prompted warnings of Iranian and Russian-backed online campaigns to discredit the interim administration in Damascus.
Shadi Muhammad Al Waisi, who was a religious official in Al Nusra Front, is alleged to have condemned the women to death for prostitution and adultery in video dated January 2015, which has appeared on social media.
One of the women pleads to see her children before she is shot in the head. The man alleged to be Mr Al Waisi and the men with him shout "God is great" following the killings. Al Nusra Front was the precursor to Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, which overthrew the Assad regime last month.
The killings are said to have happened in Idlib, which was controlled by Al Nusra Front at the time.
The footage "reflects a stage we have moved beyond"
HTS official speaking to Verify-Sy
Fact-checking platform Verify-Sy said it had confirmed the authenticity of the videos and that Mr Al Waisi was featured in them. It quoted unnamed senior officials of the current HTS-led Syrian administration. The official said the video "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 the time".
The official claimed the footage "reflects a stage we have moved beyond" and that a "thorough review" would be carried out by the government.
The HTS government, let by Ahmad Al Shara, has not commented on the footage. The two women were said to have been executed after convictions for prostitution and adultery.
HTS is now steering the transition from the rule of former president Bashar Al Assad. But concerns remain among Syrians and the international community over the group's former association with Al Qaeda.
The group has sought to rebrand from its roots and has revoked some strict measures. De facto leader Mr Al Shara has also undergone a transformation, moving away from his nom de guerre. The US recently removed a $10 million bounty offered for his capture.
Nonetheless, online investigators warned that the video of the executions could have have been unearthed as part of a co-ordinated online campaign by forces loyal to Mr Al Assad to discredit the interim administration.
While it was hard to determine who originally shared the video, investigators said the content had been amplified by social media accounts in Iraq and Lebanon, which are believed to be linked to Iranian-backed militias supporting the Assad regime, as well as influential accounts in Russia.
Since the fall of the Assad regime, online spaces have been flooded with allegations against some members of the new administration - some of which are false.
“These disinformation actors, such as Russia, Iran, falsely portray members of the administration as extremist operatives, claiming they are working to transform Syria into a hub for extremism and establish an Islamist state,” said Zouhair Al Shimale, London-based Syrian who researches online disinformation and is communications manager at Verify Sy.
While he did not dispute Verify Sy's findings on Mr Al Waisi, he said the spread of such stories was an attempt to block Mr Al Shara's attempts to rebuild Syria and normalise relations with the West. “They want to target western audiences and they select key narratives to go on, like forcing women to wear hijabs and enforcing Sharia,” he told The National.
He warned against unofficial social media accounts claiming to document human rights abuses, as those same accounts also used their traction to spread disinformation. In some instances “fabricated” claims of human rights abuses against minority groups had also been shared. “These misleading narratives are designed to provoke concern among Western nations and create a public relations crisis for the Syrian government,” he said.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Austria 2
Hinteregger (53'), Schopf (69')
Germany 1
Ozil (11')
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
LIVING IN...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre V6
Power: 295hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 355Nm at 5,200rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
Price: Dh179,999-plus
On sale: now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
TOUR RESULTS AND FIXTURES
June 3: NZ Provincial Barbarians 7 Lions 13
June 7: Blues 22 Lions 16
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June 13: Highlanders 23 Lions 22
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June 20: Chiefs 6 Lions 34
June 24: New Zealand 30 Lions 15
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July 1: New Zealand 21 Lions 24
July 8: New Zealand v Lions
The specs: 2019 BMW i8 Roadster
Price, base: Dh708,750
Engine: 1.5L three-cylinder petrol, plus 11.6 kWh lithium-ion battery
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 374hp (total)
Torque: 570Nm (total)
Fuel economy, combined: 2.0L / 100km
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
