Protest after Kurdish removed from Syria’s Hasakah courthouse sign
HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – Dozens of Kurds in Hasakah city, northeastern Syria, on Thursday protested after government officials removed the Kurdish language from the identification sign of the city’s courthouse.
The sign at the courthouse, known locally as the Justice Palace, had previously been written in both Kurdish and Arabic before it was replaced with a new sign in Arabic and English.
Residents gathered outside the courthouse to voice their rejection of the removal of Kurdish from the sign, coinciding with a meeting reportedly held to address issues related to the courthouse administration.
Videos went viral on social media showed protesters removing the newly installed sign from the facade of the courthouse building.
The incident comes amid broader administrative changes in northeastern Syria following the January 29 integration agreement between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian transitional government.
Under the agreement, both sides committed to a ceasefire and a phased process to reintegrate civil and military institutions in areas previously administered by the Kurdish Autonomous Administration into state structures.
The agreement included the handover of key institutions to Syrian ministries and the return of state administrative presence in cities such as Hasakah and Qamishli.
Since the agreement, residents and local observers have been closely monitoring changes affecting public institutions, particularly those tied to language, administration, and local representation.
Some residents viewed the removal of Kurdish from the courthouse sign as a symbolic step reflecting these broader shifts in governance.