Syrian Lawmakers Disband Assad-Era Security Court as Fuel Protests Paralyse the Northeast

Syria’s newly established parliament has passed legislation formally abolishing a notorious counter-terrorism tribunal created under former President Bashar al-Assad, striking down the legal consequences of its past verdicts. The decisive vote represents one of the earliest major legislative actions undertaken by the post-Assad assembly, which convened for the first time in July.

State-run broadcaster Al-Ekhbariya reported that lawmakers in Damascus voted on Wednesday to officially dismantle the Counter-Terrorism Court. While authorities in the transitional administration had already treated the tribunal as defunct, the parliamentary vote provides the necessary legal finality to formally invalidate its historical proceedings and judgments.

Established in 2012 during the early stages of the Syrian conflict, the specialized court was routinely utilized by the al-Assad government to prosecute thousands of citizens for various offenses classified under broad anti-state and terrorism categories. Rights advocates long argued that the institution functioned primarily as a political instrument to suppress dissent and punish opposition figures.

Wednesday’s legislative decision follows a series of incremental measures enacted since the collapse of the previous government. In June 2025, President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued an executive decree removing 67 judges who were tied to what he designated as the abolished tribunal, reinforcing transitional judicial overhauls.

These legislative and executive steps align directly with the country's March 2025 constitutional declaration. That transitional framework mandated the nullification of unjust rulings handed down by the court and ordered the comprehensive restoration of properties that had been seized from citizens under its decrees.

International bodies had previously documented deep structural flaws within the tribunal's framework. In 2024, the United Nations Human Rights Committee emphasized that the original 2012 statute failed to guarantee fundamental legal protections, highlighting grave concerns regarding arbitrary detention, torture, ill-treatment of detainees, and an absence of judicial independence.

The decisive dismantling of the judicial body arrives in the wake of the al-Assad dynasty’s December 8, 2024 collapse. That sudden downfall, achieved after a rapid 11-day offensive, brought an end to 53 years of family rule characterized by a pervasive police state widely condemned for systemic disappearances and torture.

Despite the legislative milestone in the capital, the central government is confronting acute domestic pressure in northeastern Syria. Deepening unrest across the region is presenting a formidable test to President al-Sharaa’s efforts to foster national unity following 14 years of devastating civil conflict.

In the northeastern Kurdish region, demonstrators staged major blockades on Wednesday, completely cutting off the M4 highway near the town of Tal Tamr. The road closure left hundreds of commercial fuel tankers stranded, preventing crude oil shipments originating from the Qamishli and Rmeilan oilfields from reaching their destinations.

Protesters on the ground declared that the vital transportation corridor would remain shut until authorities reverse steep increases in domestic fuel prices. The blockade underscores growing public anger over shifting economic realities as the central government reasserts administrative oversight over regions previously operating under local autonomous authorities.

The price increases stem largely from Damascus removing long-standing fuel subsidies that were maintained when the northeastern territory and its oil infrastructure were governed by Kurdish-led administration. On Sunday, state authorities instituted further hikes, raising petrol prices by roughly 30 percent and diesel costs by 40 percent.

Central authorities attributed the price spikes to broader international energy pressures sparked by the US-Israel war against Iran, alongside ongoing technical maintenance at the domestic coastal refinery in Baniyas. In response to mounting public outcry, lawmakers have summoned Syrian Energy Minister Mohammed al-Bashir to face formal questioning before parliament on Thursday.

Economic grievances have compounded broader anxieties among the Kurdish population, who constituted roughly 10 percent of Syria’s 23 million residents prior to the 2011 uprising. Having endured decades of marginalization under the al-Assad family, Kurdish communities established a self-governing enclave during the war and now express concern over the potential erosion of wartime autonomy.

Tensions have also surfaced in the educational sector, where mass student demonstrations recently broke out across Hasakah and Qamishli. Demonstrators rallied against a national decree that recognized Kurdish as an official instructional language for the first time in modern Syrian history, but restricted its use to only three classes per week, contrasting sharply with the curriculum of the region's previous Kurdish-centric schools.

These regional frictions coincide with the ongoing implementation of an August pact aimed at integrating the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the unified national army. While the Damascus leadership views the integration as a crucial step toward national consolidation following an initial January ceasefire, Kurdish political factions remain divided over whether the process offers a secure constitutional platform or reflects concessions forced by political pressure.