The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) has cancelled a notice issued in 2024 under which 24,511 Syrian passports were considered stolen.
This was reported by Abdul Rahim Jabara, Director of International Cooperation at Syria’s Ministry of Interior, according to the SANA news agency.
He said the decision was taken after prolonged work by Interpol’s office in Damascus and the Syrian Interior Ministry’s Department of International Cooperation. They determined that the relevant notice was unfounded and based on inaccurate information.
Jabara noted that in November 2024, after Aleppo was liberated, Bashar al-Assad’s regime submitted a request to have these documents added to the list of stolen items. At the time, it was claimed that the passports had allegedly been stolen from the city’s immigration and passport control centre.
“However, the passports were properly issued and delivered to their lawful owners,” the Syrian official said.
Because the documents were entered into the international list, their holders were detained abroad and the passports were confiscated. This made travel more difficult and restricted people’s freedom of movement.
Following the cancellation of the notice, these restrictions should be lifted.
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