Iraq: Uproar After Death Sentence Issued Against Syrian Over Videos of Al-Sharaa

News of the arrest of a young Syrian man in Iraq and his sentencing to death has sparked widespread controversy among Syrians in recent hours, following the circulation of a document allegedly issued by the Criminal Court in Najaf. The document reportedly orders the execution of Majd Suleiman Ahmad Hassan on terrorism charges after photos and videos of the Syrian Interim Government’s Prime Minister, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, and the Free Syrian Army were found on his phone.

Although the authenticity of the circulated document has not been verified, the young man’s family confirmed that he was arrested in March 2025 along with his brother, who was later released, while Majd remained in detention until the verdict was issued, according to Syrian media reports.

For his part, the Director of Arab Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Syrian Interim Government, Mohammad Al-Ahmad, stated that the ministry is following up on the case with Iraqi authorities. In a post on the platform X on Tuesday, he noted that communications are ongoing through official channels to verify the authenticity of the document and to follow up on the case in due process.

As of the time of publication, Iraqi authorities had not issued any official statement regarding the case or the document attributed to the Najaf court.