By Feras Dalatey
DAMASCUS, March 17 (Reuters) - Syrian authorities have banned alcohol from restaurants and bars in Damascus, one of the clearest moves yet by the Islamist-led government towards enforcing conservative ways since Ahmed al-Sharaa toppled Bashar al-Assad 15 months ago.
The decree, issued by the Damascus governorate on Monday evening, requires that nightclub and bar licences be converted into café licences and restricts the sale of alcohol to sealed bottles for takeaway and only in predominantly Christian areas.
Any outlet selling alcohol must be located at least 75 metres (yards) away from places of worship and schools, and at least 20 metres (yards) from security facilities, according to the decree. It grants bar owners three months to comply.
OWNER SAYS HE WILL CLOSE HIS BAR
One Damascus bar owner said he would close his establishment, saying he had been expecting such a decree for some time, noting a sharp decline in customers since the Islamist-led government seized power.
The bar owner, who declined to be identified for fear he could face harassment, said he saw no point in converting his establishment into a dry restaurant or cafe, adding that people didn't come there for pizza or shisha.
Many restaurants had already changed the way they served alcohol or stopped doing so altogether after rebels led by Sharaa, a former al Qaeda commander, defeated Assad in December 2024, after 13 years of civil war.
Some took beer and wine off the menu, or began serving alcoholic drinks in tea glasses.
WOMAN ARRESTED FOR FAILING TO OBSERVE RAMADAN FASTING
Sharaa has sought to assure Syrians that their rights and freedoms would be protected. In his address to the U.N. General Assembly last September, Sharaa pledged that Syria was now “building the institutions of a state governed by the rule of law, guaranteeing rights and freedoms.”
Mohammad al-Abdullah, director of the Washington-based Syria Justice and Accountability Center, disputed the legal basis of the move against alcohol sales, saying existing Syrian laws didn't ban the consumption or sale of alcoholic beverages.
The decision, he added, contradicts Article 12 of Syria's Constitutional Declaration approved by Sharaa last year. This adopted all human rights treaties signed by Syria, several of which protect the right to consume alcohol, Abdullah said.
Reflecting tighter application of religious conservatism, authorities have acted to enforce fasting during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.
An employee in the Salamiyah area of Hama was arrested for breaking her fast early. The public prosecutor accused her of “violating public morals”, according to a statement.
Employees of a bakery near Damascus were fired by the local council for the same reason.
(Additional reporting by Timour Azhari; Writing by Feras Dalatey; Editing by Tom Perry, William Maclean)
