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After Owner's Arrest.. "Al-Amshat" Militia Confiscates Olive Press and Olive Lands
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Civil court's refusal to consider affected parties' claims reflects institutional complicity with armed factions' violations of private property rights
The Turkish-backed "Al-Amshat" militia seized an olive pressing facility and agricultural lands belonging to a citizen in the Jindires district of Afrin, northern Syria, following his arrest days ago.
Since last October, various areas in Afrin have been subjected to looting operations targeting the crops of dozens of productive olive trees by groups from the Ankara-loyal "National Army."
A "Military Police" official in Jindires district told North Press that the economic office of the Suleiman Shah "Al-Amshat" faction seized an olive press and a 125-dunum orchard owned by "Ahmed Aziz," who has been detained for four days under security pretexts.
Aziz's family approached the Jindires court to file a lawsuit against the faction for confiscating their properties without legal justification, but the court rejected the request, claiming the case was linked to a security file under military court jurisdiction.
The source noted that the confiscation of residents' properties and farms in Afrin and its surroundings typically begins with detaining the owner on security charges to intimidate them.
It's worth noting that Afrin areas have witnessed continuous property rights violations since Turkish-backed factions occupied them in 2018, with human rights organizations documenting hundreds of cases of seizure of real estate and agricultural lands.
The olive harvest season represents a main source of income for the region's residents, as Afrin is famous for producing the finest types of olives and contains more than 18 million olive trees, making attacks on this sector a direct threat to the region's economy and the livelihoods of its original Kurdish inhabitants.
Levant-Agencies
