ISTANBUL

In a sweeping crackdown, the Syrian regime under Bashar al-Assad has seized the property of over 800 civilians in the Zakya district of Damascus since the beginning of 2024, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR).

“At least 817 civilians have been subject to mass provisional seizure orders by the Syrian regime in Zakya Town in Rural Damascus Governorate since the start of 2024,” the SNHR said in its report.

The rights group released the report, entitled ‘The Syrian Regime is Using Provisional Seizure of Assets as an Instrument of Collective Punishment,’ on Tuesday.

The provisional seizure orders issued by the Ministry of Finance against the residents of the town have “no judicial grounds,” as they were based on security authorities’ decisions, the report stated.

It went on to say, "This further proves that the regime’s security apparatus controls all aspects of the state institutions, which are subjugated to the service of the interests of the security apparatus.”

The policy of provisional seizure of transferable and non-transferable assets has been used by the regime to generate funds through seizing and subsequently disposing of assets identified in seizure orders, the report added.

“Equally important is the fact that this has been used as a punishment against most dissidents and their families by subjecting them to even more legal, social, and economic restrictions, oppression, and injustice.”

Syria has been embroiled in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.