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(Beirut) Syria Since the beginning of 2024, the Treasury Department has targeted hundreds of people and their families in towns south of Damascus with illegal asset freezes, Human Rights Watch said today. a lot of Asset Freeze Structure Collective punishment and infringements on property rights.
The decisions are based on a 2012 decree authorizing the Treasury Department to freeze the assets of individuals under investigation for suspected terrorism under Syrian law. Anti-terrorism law is too broadeven if they have not been charged with a crime.
“The indiscriminate nature of the massive asset freeze in Zakiya appears to reflect a broader strategy of collective punishment against communities in the reconquered regions,” Adam KugelDeputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The use of counterterrorism laws as a pretext for illegal asset freezes and seizures is part of a deliberate policy to maintain a climate of fear and repression in former opposition areas.”
Human Rights Watch reviewed “preventive detention” decisions issued between January and June that targeted hundreds of residents of Zakiya, a town that government forces recaptured from opposition forces in 2016. Human Rights Watch interviewed two people affected by these measures, one of whom still lives in Zakiya and another who was displaced to the opposition-controlled northwest in 2017. Those affected include the detainees themselves and their immediate family members, including parents, spouses, children, and siblings. For example, in one existing decision, of the 103 people listed, 19 were direct targets and 84 were their immediate family members.
detailed Report released today An investigation by the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) found that of the 818 people listed in the “preventive detention orders” issued in 2024, 287 had signed documents allowing them to stay in Zakiya after the recapture, provided that they did not participate in anti-government activities. Another 196 people could not be identified, 187 were internally displaced persons, 69 were refugees, 37 were forcibly disappeared, 22 were missing, and 20 were dead.
One man interviewed said he was among the opposition fighters who resisted the forced relocation after Zakiya was recaptured and initially refused to sign the so-called Settlement Agreement Authorities allowed the fighters to continue to carry light weapons after being vetted by security agencies. He said they had verbally agreed three times since then to give up their weapons in exchange for the release of the detainees, but authorities reneged on their promises.
“These decisions are capricious, arbitrary, vindictive and malicious,” he said, noting that he, his wife and 19 second-degree relatives were on the list.
Both people interviewed said they had not been notified of the decision to freeze movable and immovable property, which is in violation of Syrian law. The man who remained in Zakiya said he was not aware of the problem until late March, when another Zakiya resident tried to conduct a transaction involving his property at the land registry and found out that his assets had been frozen. Upon further inquiry, the other resident discovered that the order affected hundreds of people.
The “preventive seizure” orders analyzed are all based on Syria’s Judicial Police Powers Law (Legislative Decree No. 63 of 2012), which authorizes the Ministry of Finance to freeze people’s assets as a precautionary measure, without a court order, upon request from judicial police authorities, pending investigations into “crimes against the internal or external security of the State” and violations of Syria’s abused 2012 Anti-Terrorism Law. If they are tried and convicted, their property will be automatically confiscated and turned over to the government.
Each order also cites the notorious Damascus General Intelligence Bureau Branch 285They also justified the action in their final statement by pointing out that these individuals were involved in “current events in the country.”
The former resident, who now lives in the northwest, said he discovered he was affected after his name appeared on a copy of the order on a Facebook page about Zakiya news. “It includes my name, my parents’ names, my brothers and sisters, my uncles and cousins,” he said. “I don’t know why.” He said that while some of the relatives included in the order are still in Zakiya, others have long been detained or are elsewhere in Turkey and Europe.
“I know one of the men (in the preventive detention order), he has been dead since 1988,” the Zakiya resident said.
Asset freezes can severely undermine people’s financial stability, restricting their ability to access money, maintain property and conduct business, thereby exacerbating economic hardship and potentially hampering their livelihoods.
“I have a piece of land, eight dunams (about two acres), which I farm,” the Zakiya resident said. “It’s included in the asset freeze. Now I can’t sell it or rent it out. They may seize it after some time and take it for themselves. The same goes for my movable property, my car, I can’t do anything with it (now). If I had money in the bank, it would be the same, I wouldn’t be able to take it out.”
Both said they had not tried to appeal directly to the government or to challenge the decision. A current resident of Zakiya said community leaders and the town mayor sent a letter to the General Intelligence Directorate in April calling the orders unjust and arbitrary, but that he had not received a response.
Both Human Rights Watch and SNHR BeforeRecord The Syrian government used A series of legislative measures Unjustified seizure of residents’ private property without due process or compensation. This includes Decree No. 63 of 2012.
Such laws create Major obstacles to allow refugees and displaced persons to return home, reclaim their property and rebuild their lives. Complicating international reconstruction effortsBecause companies involved in demolishing or rehabilitating buildings risk contributing to human rights violations and forced displacement if they deal with property illegally seized by governments.
Human Rights Watch said Decree 63 violates due process guarantees by providing no avenues for appeal or formal notification for individuals on the list. It also infringes on property rights protected by the Human Rights Act 1989. Article 15 of the Syrian Constitution and below International Human Rights Law.
The right to property is guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Arab Charter on Human Rights. The Arab Charter states that no one “shall in any case be arbitrarily or unlawfully deprived of all or part of his property.” International tribunals have ruled that property and occupancy rights protect traditional but unrecorded property rights in houses and land, as well as rights recorded through formal land titles and registries.
Syria Anti-Terrorism Law The overly broad definition of terrorism allows the government to characterize nearly any action as a terrorist offense, including humanitarian assistance or nonviolent protest, and lacks clear procedural standards.
The Ministry of Finance’s practice of punishing people under Decree No. 63 solely on the basis of their family relationship to the accused rather than their individual criminal responsibility also constitutes collective punishment, which is prohibited under international humanitarian and human rights law in all circumstances.
Human Rights Watch said the Syrian government should provide specific reasons for freezing assets and allow those affected, including relatives, to appeal the decision. The government should amend the counterterrorism law and other related laws to remove overly broad definitions of terrorism and include due process and fair trial guarantees.
“For refugees facing increasing pressure to return from neighboring countries and Europe, these arbitrary asset freezes highlight ongoing government retaliation and abuse, making it extremely unlikely that they will find stability and safety upon return,” Kugel said.
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