Syria’s Al-Hasakah protest over removal of Kurdish language from courthouse sign
Shafaq News- Damascus
Dozens of Kurdish residents staged demonstrations in Al-Hasakah, northeastern Syria, on Thursday after government officials removed the Kurdish language from a courthouse sign and replaced it with Arabic and English.
Shafaq News
correspondent reported that protesters gathered at the justice building to
reject the removal of Kurdish, coinciding with a meeting between Syrian
government officials and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to discuss the
judicial issue in Al-Hasakah province.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the government delegation left Al-Hasakah for the city of Al-Shaddadi following tensions around the courthouse, after protests escalated outside the building, with demonstrators calling for adherence to the agreement and the inclusion of the Kurdish language in official institutions and signage in Kurdish areas.
#المرصد_السوريالوفد الحكومي يغادر #الحسكة نحو #الشدادي.. وسط جدل حول آلية إعادة افتتاح القصر العدليhttps://t.co/xIv3Fh8EL6
— المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان (@syriahr) May 7, 2026
Kurdish rights activist Sherwan Youssef told Shafaq News that the Syrian government should constitutionally recognize Kurdish as an official language alongside Arabic in Syria. “The era of marginalizing Kurds and denying their rights has ended. Kurds would not allow any party to undermine or deny their national and cultural rights,” he said.
The developments
unfold amid continued disagreements between the Syrian government and the SDF
over control of the judicial system in Al-Hasakah, after talks failed on April 21.
In January, the Syrian government and the SDF agreed on a ceasefire that includes the gradual integration of military and administrative structures. The agreement also provides for incorporating institutions of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) into state structures, retaining civil employees, addressing civil and educational rights of the Kurdish community, and facilitating the return of displaced residents to their hometowns.
