Instead of Missing Out on Military Service, a New Royalty Imposed by the Syrian Regime

Published: Thursday, March 18, 2021

Popular discontent and fears of the acquisition of property of violators

Public resentment and fears of the acquisition of property of violators

Lawyer: The law does not permit the seizure of the property of the taxpayer's parents and relatives. 

recruitment directorate threatened to impose on those over 42 years of age who did not perform the flag service, and to place them and their relatives in executive custody. New, unjust decision, through which the system looks.

Once again, the Syrian regime places itself in a narrow Caucasian chalk circle and extends its hand to the pockets of the destitute, who have refused to participate in killing the Syrians, by imposing a royalty "over the military service allowance," which a senior official of the regime's which a senior official of the regime's recruitment directorate threatened to impose on those over 42 years of age who did not perform the military service, and to place them and their relatives in executive custody. New, unjust decision, through which the system looks An unjust new resolution, through which the regime seeks a horizon, fills the shortage of resources it has squandered in a vain war, abandons the law and the Constitution, which guarantee the rights and dignity of the citizen, and follows illegal methods of injustice and blackmail beyond perception.

With the assurances of those with whom she met (photos) that this action was illegal, unconstitutional, and stirs up confusion, fears were raised that the properties of violators and their relatives would be owned by external actors, within the context of the demographic change schemes that Syrians warn of.

Threat and Warnings

In a precedent that is the first of its kind, the Syrian Ministry of Information broadcast a video in which the head of the Allowance and Exemption Branch of the Syrian Army, Brigadier General Elias Bitar, threatened every Syrian over 42 years of age and did not perform military service, if not exempt from it, and did not pay the cash allowance by executive detention on his money, relatives and assets, in the event of a delay in the organization of the "over-service allowance" file, in a new precedent contrary of law and the Constitution. Bitar pointed out that the administration of the allowance for the loss of service is organized on the day after the end of the age (42), and the taxpayer is given a period of three months, until he follows up with the recruitment division, completes the statements, and the value of the excess allowance, estimated at US $ 8 000 or the equivalent in Syrian lire, is paid to the Central Bank of Syria or any other financial unit; however, there are many taxpayers over the age of (42) and the duration of three months, without specifying them, he said: He said: "The Recruitment Division provides us with a list of these names. We organize for each of these officials a document of summons to the military judiciary (the military prosecutor's office) and to the Ministry of Finance (the Tax and Fees Authority), in order to carry out the executive seizure of the property of this late taxpayer, who is late in the payment of the value of the service allowance, the military judiciary shall take measures by him in accordance with the regulations and laws.” Adding that the executive detention is carried out by a means of a letter issued by the Recruitment Directorate on the property and livelihood of the violators, whether it is his, or his family or relatives or anyone else who belongs to him.

Public Discontent

There has been widespread criticism of the regime's decision to impose executive detention on those who have failed to do so. There is considerable public resentment at the fact that the regime itself is bound by decisions that impress it, undermine the law and the Constitution, and at the same time take over the property of citizens without due process.

Member of the Bar Association in Sweda, Ayman Shibuddin asserts that there is "no legal legitimacy" for any seizure, which could be placed on the funds of the taxpayer's parents. (Father, mother, wife, children, or siblings), and the statements of the recruitment officer in this regard are only a mix of papers, intimidation and extortion of Syrians for their money, and "stirring up confusion" in this matter, as stated by regime officials is "intentional, nonarbitrary".

"There is no legal basis for such statements by regime officials that the seizure would affect the taxpayer's money and his relatives.” He explained that the military service Act No. 30 of 2007 and Law 39 of 2019 have no indication even if it is possible to make executive detention of the funds of the taxpayer's relatives, but that the provision "the possibility of executive detention of the funds of the self-designate", and the law does not mention his relatives, and the collection of state funds in this regard (instead of missing service) is carried out in accordance with the Law on the Collection of Public Funds.

For his part, the Syrian journalist Ali Nimr considered that this decision was "not based on any legal articles, even if the relevant laws and decrees were amended and new ones were issued," referring to two contradictory declarations by officials of the Syrian government. Following the statement made by the Chief of the Allowance and Exemption Branch of the General Recruitment Directorate, concerning the issue of service allowance and executive detention, the Director of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of the Government of Damascus, Hassan Khadur, during an interview on Syrian news this mid-month, denied any decision in this regard; describing what has been raised as an "attempt to confuse communities abroad," they claim that if there is anything new, it would be released to the official Syrian media, and published on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora website, and their mission websites. abroad.

The Director of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora had confirmed that it was not true what was being done about the seizure of family property in the event that the taxpayer did not return and pay for the payment of the flag service allowance; adding that the reserve duty holder outside the country could pay the allowance by applying to the diplomatic mission, or by assigning one of his relatives or through his legal agent. He pointed out that the taxpayer is entitled to pay the allowance during his visit to Syria as part of the expatriate trip of 90 days a year.

Service Law

Syrians from 18 to 42 years are subject to the Military Service Act promulgated by Legislative Decree No. 30 of 2007, which was first amended by Legislative Decree No. 33 of 2014, and which sets out an over-service allowance for a taxpayer over 42 years of age at $8,000, with specifying the penalty for non-payment, however, the taxpayer who has not paid shall report directly or through his or her parent or legal agent that payment must be made within 15 days from the date of the notification of the seizure of his or her movable and immovable property and that it shall be carried out in accordance with the Act on the Collection of Public Funds. Article 97 of the Science Service Act was amended by Act 35 of 2017, which required a three-month payment period with the notification requirement revoked. In the event of non-payment, the taxpayer's transferred and non-transferred assets shall be seized by decision of the Minister of Finance. The last amendment was made in December 2019 by Act No. 39, which only covered article 97 of the Military Service Act, that the executive seizure of the movable and immovable property of the payer of the non-payment of the service allowance should be received within the time limit specified in paragraph /d/of this article by a decision of the Minister of Finance, the payment of an allowance for the loss of service caused by the non-payment under the provisions of the Act on the Collection of Public Funds shall be made without the need to warn the taxpayer.

The Syrian Bar Forum makes a distinction between executive and reserve detention, that since its inception, the executive detention has been considered a preventive and operational measure, based by the Head of the Implementation Department on the basis of the executive bond in the hands of the creditor, and confirms the existence of the debt and the appointment of its capacity and that the debt is due to performance. Pre-trial detention is a preventive measure that turns into an executive seizure after the creditor's right has been established and the creditor has obtained a judgement from the competent court that necessarily includes the establishment of pre-trial detention, which is within the jurisdiction of the pre-trial judge or the court competent to consider the origin of the right. The Syrian Opposition Legal Authority considers executive detention to be an immediate collection of the amount by putting the transferred and immovable funds of the detainee up for sale at public auction in order to meet the requested amount, thereby denying the taxpayer the right to defend himself or herself or to have recourse to the courts.

Black Days

Speaking to Suwar magazine, Nimr who resides in Germany explains that this "confusion in statements is caused by the difficult and deteriorating economic situation of the Syrian Government, which has not produced any political or economic results from the outcry it has created in the case of Rami Mukhlov, as the country's largest head of corruption;” to be the starting point for fighting the rest of the big money forces, to achieve two objectives: first to achieve a political victory internally even temporarily, and the second make a boast of reserve sequestration on the money of the wealthy in their known names, may emerge from its suffocating crisis for months, but it has practically failed to do so."

States are eager to offer temptations and incentives to investors, and they seek to convince their expatriate citizens to return home, and use the methods of dialogue, discussion and reconciliation in their dealings with the people. However, the Syrian regime has even gone further in the settlements and reconciliation it has entered into with all those who bear arms in its face, but today it is circumventing all the conditions it has laid down for itself and threatening anyone who has not performed compulsory service with executive custody of his money, property and relatives. They flouted all values, laws and the Constitution. "The government contradicts itself," Syrian journalist Nimr said, asking: "How does the Government hold a refugee return conference months ago, while requiring every expatriate or refugee behind the military to pay $ 8 000? This is equivalent to about 26 million Syrian pounds at current exchange rates, while the average salary of a Syrian employee does not exceed $18 per month, which lives his worst days, which can be called "black days" due to the lack of basic materials that provide the minimum living under high rates of poverty and unemployment, and continued inflation and high levels of catastrophic borders, "according to Nimr..

New fears

At a time when international interest in the complex Syrian file is declining, Syrian youth are experiencing a new cycle of unusual pressure from the regime, standing between the hammer and the anvil, either paying the cash allowance or waiting for the executive seizure of their money, property and families. The extreme gravity of that official video, which has rekindled fears, is that executive custody affects those who have missed a service, which means that the pressure the regime exerts on all those who do not obey its decisions. From this point on, fears that people's property could be illegally seized have arisen, raising renewed concerns about the possibility of non - Syrians owning properties that their owners had previously refused to sell in the past.

Lawyer Shebeddine does not consider this to be a step in the context of the acquisition of the property of those who are out of service for the benefit of external forces (Iran and Hezbollah), and asserts that the subject is "not a possession", as in the law "the money of the taxpayer, in executive custody, after which it is auctioned, and the state treasury recovers the money owed in its favour. In response to Suwar’s question that anyone is entitled to buy, which generates concerns in this direction? "Iran and Hezbollah are out of this," Shebeeddine believes that "Iran and Hezbollah are out of this," asserting that the regime "needs urgent money," so pressure is being put on such permits, not to acquire real estate.

The Syrian Opposition Legal Corps classified Officer Bitar's statements as "irrelevant to constitutions and laws," both in terms of personal punishment and in terms of falsification of laws. Warning in a statement it posted on its Facebook page that it's all to "supplement the crime of demographic change, auction the property of Syrians and buy it at a low price by Iranian businessmen."

Currency suction

The regime's financial vacuum has led it to seek sources that finance its high expenditures, restore the deficit in its treasury resources, and heal the enormous cracks in its treasury. However, after releasing the obligation of the Syrians wishing to enter their country have to pay 100 dollars at the official price of 1250 lira against the U.S. dollar (compared to more than 3900 pounds on the black market), the mind of the levying taxes and the imposition of royalties on the acquisition of the property of those who refused to participate in the Syrian killing since 2011 and even went on to threaten anyone related to them. The journalist Nimr asserts that this new decision is to "suck the hard currency out of the pockets of expatriates under the pretext of service allowance," especially since the Central Bank no longer has the foreign liquidity to "maintain exchange rate stability."

The regime had about $18 billion in gold as a reserve at the Central Bank of Syria, which according to financial experts, was sufficient for Syrians for two years, but the war bill was high; the conflict’s continuation for a decade, have wasted this wealth, turning the country from non-existent foreign debt to a country mired in the blood of its children and a wasteful debt. The massive destruction of the country's productive sectors has made access to resources to support the system's treasury almost non-existent, coupled with a clear government deficit in creating conditions conducive to bridging the widening gap between needs and resources.

Slipping into the Abyss

The idea of robbing people, threatening them with their remaining livelihoods and property, reflects a purely authoritarian mentality, transcends the already broken legislative institutions, exposes the deteriorating state of affairs at the government level and the dark tunnel in which the regime runs. A new resolution confirms the regime's financial predicament, the particularly dire state of dislocation in the economic sphere, and its solution - through its decisions and actions – it is slipping back into the abyss.