A new form of corruption market has emerged in Damascus: The regime is issuing certificates to lawyers and judges to dig graves in Damascus.
Graves were expensive in Damascus before the crisis, but since the uprisinf started, and the number of people killed by the regime and its supporters has increased dramatically, the price for grave sites has become well beyond reach.
In the old Damascene neighborhood al-Shaghour, residents said lawyers and judges are selling the certificates they were issued by the governorate to dig graves for as much as 1.1 million Syrian Pounds ($10,000 dollars). The people of the neighborhood accused the governorate council of profiting from the new trade.
People complain that grave diggers are digging close to the entrances of the Bab al-Shaghour, al-Beit cemeteries, and particularly Saida Hafsa cemetery.
When asked who owns the grave sites, diggers told residents they belong to a judge and added that the plots are for sale.
One residnet said that the graves at Bab al-Shaghour are sold at high prices and the governorate issues the certificates through agents.
Residents say the graves are designed for martyrs, but are in fact sold on at inflated prices by their owners.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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