The Ministry of Justice in the government of the Syrian regime issued Circular No. 22 on August 10, 2022 which stipulates that the Sharia judges working in the courts of the Syrian regime must meet five conditions before confirming any death case, or issuing any death notice. Among those conditions imposed by the ministry is to request the relevant criminal security branch to address the rest of the security branches to find out if they have information about the person whose death is to be confirmed or to obtain security approval for that. In addition to the need to ensure that the Public Prosecution office is included in the claim of confirming someone’s death, and organizing a police report regarding the death incident and verifying it. As well as requesting the Immigration and Passport Department to indicate whether there is a movement of the person being investigated to be proved dead, in addition to obtaining a statement from the mayor of the region related to the death incident.

The Syrian Regime Requires Security Approval in Cases of Death Confirmation