Systematic "Arabization": Syria Removes Kurdish Judges, Staff from Afrin Courts in Sweeping Decree

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Syrian Ministry of Justice has enacted a far-reaching series of judicial changes in Afrin, Northern Syria (Western Kurdistan), effectively sidelining Kurdish employees and transferring them to Aleppo and other areas, while appointing Arab replacements in their stead.

The measures, issued under decree No. 1479 on Aug. 26, 2025, and confirmed in administrative order No. 412722 obtained by Kurdistan 24, affected the Afrin Judicial Complex and its affiliated courts in Jindires, Maabatli, Sharran, and Rajo. Most Kurdish staff were reassigned to positions in Aleppo or other districts, leaving only a limited number in Afrin, largely in clerical or secondary roles such as registry, copying, or record-keeping.

Local observers assert that this decision formalizes a longstanding policy of marginalization and administrative "Arabization," despite the availability of numerous legally qualified local residents to manage judicial institutions. Crucially, the judicial system had been the only avenue for Kurdish citizens to legally reclaim homes seized during previous resettlement campaigns, following Operation Olive Branch and the subsequent war in the region. Consequently, this overhaul has generated widespread fear among Kurds that they will now be permanently unable to return to their properties.

Judges reshuffled across Afrin and its districts

Under Article 3 of the decree, a wide reshuffling was introduced:

-Adel Ali Durmush, Afrin’s Chief Prosecutor, was reassigned to the Court of Cassation in Aleppo city.

-Mohammad Hussein Abdulaziz, formerly Investigative Judge in Aleppo, was transferred to Afrin city as the new Chief Prosecutor.

-Mohammad Abdulqader Abdulrahman, previously an investigative judge in Afrin, was moved to Afrin city as Deputy Prosecutor.

-Mohammad Adel al-Sayer, formerly under the Aleppo Directorate of Justice, was appointed First Investigative Judge in Afrin city.

-Mohammad Jassim al-Dakhil, previously serving in Maabatli (Afrin district), was reassigned to Afrin city as Second Investigative Judge.

-Fares Abdulkarim Abdulqader, formerly deputy prosecutor in Afrin, became head of Afrin’s First Criminal and Conciliation Courts.

-Syria Mohammad al-Bakri, already serving in Afrin, was appointed Judge of Afrin’s Second Criminal and Conciliation Courts.

-Mahmoud Abdu Dadu was placed in Afrin city as Civil Judge.

-Newroz Bakr Hesso, previously Chief Prosecutor in Afrin, was reassigned to Afrin city as Civil Conciliation Judge.

-Mohammad Ali Hussein Andani was appointed Sharia Judge in Afrin city.

The affiliated districts also saw sweeping changes:

-Mohammad Ali Haj Ali, formerly Chief Prosecutor in Jindires, was reduced to Conciliation and Sharia Judge in Jindires.

-Mohammad Nour Mustafa Hijazi, formerly Chief Prosecutor in Rajo, was reassigned as Conciliation and Sharia Judge in Rajo.

-Abdulqader Mohammad Abdulrahman, judge in Sharran, was transferred under Aleppo’s authority with no replacement announced.

In further development the two local courts Bulbul and Maabatli districts were downgraded, leaving them with only minimal conciliation and Sharia functions.

Alongside the judicial reshuffle, administrative decree No. 412722 issued by Aleppo’s Directorate of Justice ordered the mass transfer of Afrin’s Kurdish administrative staff.

Among the most notable changes:

-Hassan Hassan bin Sobhi, head of Afrin’s investigative registry, was transferred to Daret Azza as Court Clerk.

-Abdulkarim Shahabuddin, a prosecutor’s clerk in Afrin, was reassigned to Atarib court in Aleppo’s countryside.

-Ibrahim Haj Ali, Hezndar Idris Abdulwahab, and Fatima Mohammad Sharif Rashid, all clerks in Afrin, were sent to Aleppo city’s central judiciary.

-Hassan Mohammad Hawa, Ibrahim Haj Ali, and others formerly in Afrin’s civil and criminal registries, were transferred entirely to Aleppo.

Only a small group remained in Afrin, tasked with subordinate functions such as record copying, archiving, or clerical duties.

Afrin judicial complex after the decree

Following the reorganization, Afrin’s judicial structure was reduced to:

1. Muhammad Abdul Aziz, a defected judge with only two months of service under the former Ba'ath regime, was appointed as the current Chief Public Prosecutor in Afrin. He is an Arab from Hama. He had previously resigned from his post in Afrin after being dismissed and transferred to Azaz as an investigative judge due to corruption and abuse of office. He refused the transfer and resigned instead. He was later appointed to the military judiciary but was also dismissed there due to corruption. After the liberation, he returned to work as a defected judge and was appointed in Aleppo as the 19th investigative judge. Unsatisfied with this, he requested a transfer to Afrin and was appointed Chief Public Prosecutor.

2. Fares Abdul Qader, a former lawyer and an Arab, was appointed as an assistant prosecutor in Afrin only a year ago and is still in training. Following recent judicial reforms, he was promoted to the position of First Instance Criminal Judge while also working in the Criminal Conciliation Court. This position normally requires ten years of service in the judiciary.

3. Muhammad al-Dakhil, a dissident Arab judge from Idlib, worked in Afrin and was transferred from the courts three times due to corruption. As a disciplinary penalty, he served as a prosecutor in Ma'batli and is currently appointed as the Second Investigative Judge.

4. Mahmoud Daado, an Arab and a former lawyer, was appointed a year ago to the Afrin Court as a judge of first instance and civil conciliation. After the reshuffle, he remained in his position at his own request to avoid being transferred.

5. Muhammad Nour Hijazi, a former lawyer from Damascus based in the Raju district, has been a public prosecutor since 2018. He remained in his position after the reshuffle because he did not want to be transferred.

6. Muhammad Haj Ali, an Arab from Azaz and a former lawyer, has been the public prosecutor in the Jandairis district since 2018. He remained in his position at his own request.

7. Suriya al-Bakri, an Arab from Idlib and a former lawyer, was appointed to the Second Criminal Court of First Instance in Afrin in 2021. She remained in her position after the reshuffle and was additionally assigned to the Criminal Conciliation Court.

8. Muhammad al-Sayer, an Arab and a dissident judge, served as President of the Criminal Court in Afrin. He was later transferred to the Juvenile Court. Following the reshuffle, he was appointed as the second investigating judge in Afrin at his own request.

9. Muhammad Ali al-Andani, an Arab from Hayyan and a former lawyer, was appointed as an investigating judge in Raju District in 2021. Due to corruption, he was transferred to Afrin as a Sharia judge and remained in that position at his own request.

10. Muhammad Abd al-Rahman bin Abd al-Qadir, a former Kurdish lawyer from Afrin, served as an investigating judge from 2018. After the recent reshuffle, he was transferred to the position of Deputy Public Prosecutor in Afrin.

11. Nirouz Bakr Hassu, a former Kurdish lawyer from Afrin, was appointed as Chief Public Prosecutor in 2018. She has now been transferred to the Civil Peace Court, which is the lowest court.

Afrin's districts of Sharan, Ma'batli, and Bulbul, remain without fully functioning courts, and their cases have now been transferred to the city of Afrin or Aleppo.

The cumulative effect of these measures is the near-complete removal of Kurdish personnel from Afrin’s judicial system. Those who remain do not hold decision-making authority. Analysts note this reflects a broader political strategy: 

According to documents reviewed by Kurdistan 24, the only judicial orders consistently implemented on the ground are those restoring houses to Kurdish owners when they were unlawfully seized by Arab settlers. Yet, such rulings highlight a selective application of justice: if Kurdish property has already been settled by Arab families, the original owners cannot recover their rights through the courts.

Transitional President Sharaa’s visit to Afrin

The judicial decree was imposed even after promises that the Syrian Transitional President Ahmad al-Sharaa gave when he visited Afrin as part of a broader tour of Aleppo and Idlib provinces to Accelerate the return of seized properties to their rightful Kurdish owners. His trip marked the first official engagement by a Syrian leader with Kurdish representatives in Afrin since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

During the visit, al-Sharaa met with Ahmed Hassan, head of the Kurdish National Council’s (KNCS) Afrin branch, alongside local activists and civilians. The discussions focused on the security situation and continuing human rights abuses in Afrin, including land seizures, forced displacements, arbitrary detentions, deforestation, and militia-imposed taxes.

Kurdistan24 has learned that al-Sharaa pledged to take steps in response, assuring Kurdish leaders that his administration is committed to returning properties to rightful Kurdish owners and dismantling militia dominance. Analysts suggest his engagement signals a strategic shift in the transitional government’s approach toward Kurdish communities in Western Kurdistan.

Legal experts and local sources view these decisions as part of a larger campaign to alter Afrin’s demographic and institutional identity. By displacing Kurdish professionals and replacing them with outsiders, the Ministry of Justice not only consolidates political control but also reshapes the social fabric of the region.

Observers underline that the judiciary—an institution intended to guarantee fairness—has become a tool of demographic engineering. The transfers in Afrin show how administrative decrees serve as instruments of central government policy in contested territories.

Updated in Sep. 3, 2025, at 6:12 PM.