The entrance to the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq in Damascus, which has resumed consular services following months of closure after the ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Iraqi embassy in Damascus pursuing detained citizens and seized property claims
DAMASCUS — Iraq’s embassy in Damascus is following the cases of Iraqis held by Syrian authorities, most of them over residency violations because they have no valid passport or have lost their documents, the acting chargé d’affaires said. He gave no figure for how many are detained.
“The embassy is following the file of Iraqis detained by the Syrian authorities, particularly residency violators because they do not possess valid passports or have lost their identification documents, as well as cases of illegal entry and other cases, including criminal ones,” Jubair Shallal al-Dulaimi told the Iraqi News Agency. The embassy issues passports and temporary travel documents to those eligible under Interior Ministry rules, along with powers of attorney, birth and death records and document authentication, and is working to cut waiting times through electronic appointments and document review.
On property, he said claims submitted through the Foreign Ministry or directly to the embassy were being taken up with Syrian authorities and that properties “have been returned to their owners.” He did not say how many claims have been made or how many returned.
Property became a concern for Iraqis in Syria after the change of government in Damascus, with reports of homes being taken over. The embassy set up a legal and technical committee in April last year after complaints that properties in Damascus and its countryside had been seized, tasked with working through Syria’s foreign and justice ministries, its courts and real estate registration offices to recover property for owners who could document their claims.
The issue drew attention earlier that year when a security force affiliated with the new Syrian administration entered and searched the Damascus apartment of the late Iraqi president Jalal Talabani and, according to its caretaker, kept the keys. The embassy lodged a formal complaint and a Syrian information ministry official denied anyone had entered the property.