Key facts
- Syria plans to convert Mezzeh military airport into a private jet hub.
- Rights groups and residents fear the redevelopment could disturb suspected mass graves.
- Mezzeh airport was built on land privately owned by hundreds of citizens, with claims of expropriation without compensation.
- Documents show Mezzeh was used as an execution site for detainees sentenced by military courts.
- SJAC identified two suspected grave sites within the airport, estimating over 1,150 detainees died there.
- SJAC has urged Syrian authorities to prevent excavation until suspected grave sites are investigated.
Syrian authorities are planning to transform the former Mezzeh military airport in Damascus into a hub for private and executive aviation, a move that has ignited concerns among human rights groups and local residents. The redevelopment project, announced by Syria's civil aviation authority, aims to complement Damascus International Airport. However, critics fear that the planned construction and infrastructure upgrades could disturb suspected mass graves and override decades-old private land claims.
Mezzeh military airport has a dark history, having housed detention facilities where government opponents were allegedly tortured and executed under the rule of Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez. Recently obtained documents from the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC), a U.S.-based Syrian-led human rights group, reveal that senior Syrian military officials designated Mezzeh as a site for executions in 2012. These documents indicate that parts of the air base, including a hangar, were used for carrying out executions of detainees sentenced by military field courts, with operations conducted in secrecy.
SJAC's investigation identified two suspected grave sites within the airport grounds, where it estimates over 1,150 detainees died from execution, torture, or maltreatment. The group has formally notified Syria's National Commission for Missing Persons about these findings, urging authorities to prevent any excavation or construction until the sites are thoroughly investigated. SJAC has expressed concern that ongoing work could damage crucial evidence and human remains.
Beyond the human rights concerns, the airport's redevelopment also touches upon long-standing property disputes. Land records indicate that Mezzeh airport was built on land belonging to hundreds of private citizens, with allegations that these lands were expropriated without adequate compensation under previous regimes. Residents have protested the plans, asserting their documented rights to the land and calling for a seat at the discussion table with investors. The United Nations land rights experts have also urged the Syrian government to suspend and repeal laws that have facilitated systematic property dispossession, advocating for the return of properties or fair compensation to legitimate owners.