A video falsely claimed that the suspect in the murder of 35-year-old overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Jullebee Ranara has been hanged to death. Photos in the video are actually of an Iranian man who was sentenced to death in 2014.
The suspect in Ranara’s murder is reported to be in police custody although Kuwaiti authorities have yet to release an official report on the incident.
The erroneous video appeared on Jan. 29, the same day the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait confirmed the arrest and detention of a 17-year-old suspect who is a son of Ranara’s employer. Its caption read:
“Binitay na ang pumatay sa pinay ofw sa kuwait… (Suspect behind the death of Filipina OFW in Kuwait hanged to death) JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL ❤️❤️❤️??? Grabe ang iyak nang ina nya (His mother cried a lot)???”
Ranara’s burnt body was found in a desert on Jan. 21. Her remains were brought back to Manila and buried on Feb. 5th.
Reverse image search shows that the multiple photos shown in the video were that of an Iranian man who was spared from execution in 2014 by the mother of his victim.
Without proper context, some of the photos shown in the video looked like an execution actually took place. Among these are a photo of the Iranian man with a noose around his neck, another showing two women crying, and people watching the execution ceremony. But the hanging did not take place as the parents of the victim halted the execution and forgave the convict before a large crowd.
VERA Files has earlier debunked posts showing photos and videos of men said to be behind Ranara’s murder. (Read: Viral TikTok videos DO NOT show suspect, suspect’s mother in OFW’s rape-slay, FB video shows wrong suspect, NOT alleged killer of OFW in Kuwait)
Posted by Facebook page Dirk TV (created on May 20, 2021), the erroneous video got a total of over 781,400 shares.
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)