Documentation Report on Patterns of Illegal Property Seizure in Syria During 2024–2025
Report Prepared by: Center for Combating Violence and Hatred in Syria
Date of Issue: November 2025
Type of Documentation: Investigative Documentation Report Based on Direct Testimonies and Legal Documents
Violation Classification: Illegal Seizure, Violations of Private Property, Sectarian Persecution, Forced Displacement
Property Seizure in the Heart of Damascus
A Syrian security officer identified as “A.H.” seized a house in the Mezzeh Villas neighborhood of Damascus in early September 2025 after breaking the door lock, replacing it with another, and preventing the owners from entering. He also refused to allow them access to their personal belongings.
In 2022, lawyer “Fayrouz Hassan” legally purchased a house in Damascus, paid its full price, had it officially registered in her name, and renovated it before moving in and converting part of it into a law office.
In the summer of 2025, she traveled on vacation. When she returned on September 1, she discovered that her keys no longer opened the door. After knocking, someone inside told her he now owned the house and ordered her to leave.
She went to the Ministry of Interior to file a complaint, beginning at the Political Security Branch in Mezzeh and ending at the Mezzeh Police Station. She states that she was subjected to sectarian insults and interrogated as if she were the accused. Officials attempted to link her to regime figures and insulted her as an Alawite woman.
Her case received no proper follow-up despite being a clear case of illegal property seizure. Eventually, the Director of Public Relations at the Ministry pushed the police to refer her case to the Military Judiciary since the man occupying her home is an intelligence officer under the Ministry of Defense.
Despite two and a half months passing, she has still not regained her home, and the authorities have taken no action to remove the occupying individual. Instead, they pursued her to pay electricity bills for a house she no longer lives in.
This case is one among many illegally motivated, sectarian-based property seizures documented between December 2024 and October 2025.
Various Patterns of Illegal Property Seizure
Documented cases included seizures of houses, shops, farmland, and fruit trees. In most incidents, armed individuals supported by transitional authorities or their relatives took control of the properties.
In rural Hama, a three-story house and accompanying shops were seized after sectarian threats forced the owners to flee. A witness stated that he had rented one apartment to a family, but they too fled after being threatened.
Armed men then seized all the properties by force and housed families inside them. The witness said that the man who took his home is the brother of a security officer in rural Hama. Documents confirmed the land had belonged to the witness’s father for more than 50 years.
Also in rural Hama, government-backed individuals and companies—specifically “Iktifa Company”—seized agricultural land in the village of Ma’an, stole pistachio harvests, and prevented owners from accessing their fields. Dozens of homes belonging to displaced villagers were also seized.
Ongoing Seizure of Arza Village and the Displacement of Its Residents
In western Arza village in rural Hama, the entire village has been confiscated and its homes seized since March 10, 2025, with no government action to stop the violations.
A witness returned a week after the March 7 massacre, encouraged by a Ministry announcement claiming that stolen items were returned. But upon arrival, he found strangers occupying his home and his siblings’ homes.
He filed complaints starting from the village checkpoint to the Hama Governor, but no one responded. All residents were displaced, and their homes, belongings, and olive harvests taken.
Different Patterns of Property Seizure and Uneven Government Response
We documented various forms of property seizure: some by security or military forces seizing property belonging to regime-affiliated individuals, converting them into headquarters, and others targeting ordinary civilians. Most seizures were illegal and occurred without judicial authorization.
In rural Qardaha, a security group seized a home, evicted its owner, and established a checkpoint for a period before later withdrawing and returning the home to its owner.
In Latakia city, a woman returned from medical treatment in Damascus to find her home seized by an armed man. After filing a complaint, the home was returned to her. A similar case was documented in Jableh.
However, hundreds of homes remain seized across Syria, especially in the coastal region, rural Hama, Damascus, and its countryside.
Legal Classification of the Violations
These seizures are illegal and differ completely from judicial property confiscation decisions. They were carried out through force or intimidation and in violation of applicable laws. Some cases received official responses, while many others—like those documented—received none.
The documented patterns indicate serious violations of private property rights, including illegal seizure and forced displacement—acts prohibited under international humanitarian law, particularly the Hague Regulations (1907) and the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949). They also include elements of sectarian persecution, which constitute crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute.
Additionally, these incidents show systematic denial of access to justice and absence of effective remedies, violating the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Under Syrian law, the Penal Code criminalizes property usurpation, encroachment on others’ ownership, threats, and abuse of power — aligning with testimonies describing broken locks, changed keys, forced occupation, and preventing owners from entering their homes.