The Syrian Ministry of Justice issued a circular on Monday, 15 December, calling on citizens to hand over documents obtained from security branches, state buildings, and public institutions.

The ministry urged the public not to publish any document, “to any party and under any pretext,” and warned “anyone who may be tempted to exploit these files to achieve personal goals,” vowing to impose deterrent penalties under the law.

It said that, in the first days after Syria’s liberation, some citizens entered security branches and state buildings and obtained files, documents, and digital information belonging to the state and its agencies.

Some of these documents relate to the detainee file and their fates, the ministry said, noting that some people have published such information or handed it to media outlets and other parties. It stressed that publishing this data threatens the integrity of evidence needed to achieve transitional justice.

The ministry warned that refusing to hand over the documents, or continuing to publish and circulate them through any media or electronic platform, constitutes a crime that harms state security and exposes the person involved to legal accountability.

It called on citizens to show “good faith and a sense of national responsibility” by complying with the circular and fully cooperating with the ministry.

It also instructed public prosecutors to closely follow up on implementation and to keep the ministry informed of any developments.

The ministry recalled that it issued a previous circular on 5 January 2025, calling on anyone in possession of such documents and information to voluntarily hand them over to the ministry or to public prosecutors in the governorates, as an expression of what it described as “genuine citizenship and cooperation with state institutions,” and to avoid any judicial prosecution.

Conflicts with victims’ rights

The Justice Ministry had previously issued a statement regarding some media outlets and online platforms publishing documents, photos, and information related to victims who suffered violations and torture under the former regime.

In a statement posted on its official accounts on 4 December, the ministry said it was monitoring what some outlets and platforms were doing by publishing scattered leaks of documents, photos, and information about individuals who were subjected to serious abuses and torture, and which were being circulated under the pretext of “the era of the former regime.”

It said these materials were leaked and collected through illegal means, and that they do not observe the legal and ethical safeguards required.

The ministry warned that the indiscriminate publication of such documents and photos conflicts with victims’ rights and harms the feelings of their families. It cautioned that some parties may exploit these materials for blackmail and profiteering from victims’ suffering, describing such acts as devoid of humanitarian values, and as violations of the dignity of victims and their families.

It emphasized three main principles in this context, safeguarding victims’ dignity and their families’ rights, protecting evidence and preventing tampering, and documenting it through approved frameworks.

The ministry also said it would pursue anyone who violates laws and regulations, trades in victims’ pain, or misuses the transfer or presentation of documents for illicit purposes. It affirmed its readiness to cooperate with any “sincere” entity working to uncover the truth, hold perpetrators accountable, and deliver justice for victims.

The statement came amid the circulation of images and documents published on media outlets and online platforms, attributed to victims who were subjected to violations and torture by the former regime’s forces.

According to the ministry, the random publication of these materials, outside any legal or rights-based framework, has raised concerns among civil society and human rights organizations about the risk of exploitation in blackmail campaigns or profiteering from victims’ pain. It also warned of their use in inaccurate media contexts, or for unlawful purposes.

The controversy also follows the investigative project “Damascus Files,” which is based on more than 134,000 Syrian security and intelligence records obtained by the German broadcaster NDR and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and 24 media organizations. The investigation described the findings as an “unprecedented” picture of the killing machine built by the former Syrian regime.

Published by the ICIJ on 4 December, the investigation documents the deaths of more than 10,000 detainees through testimonies, death documents, and thousands of photographs taken by military photographers of detainees’ bodies who died under torture or neglect in prisons.

Its publication reignited debate among human rights activists and journalists about violations of victims’ dignity, alongside questions about the state’s role in safeguarding data and documents related to detainees, and using them within a national project to determine their fate.

Investigation documents the killing of more than 10,000 detainees in Assad’s prisons