Khaberni - The Damascus Governorate issued a new decision that prohibits the serving of alcoholic beverages inside restaurants and nightclubs in the Syrian capital, in an effort to regulate the mechanism of their sale and exchange within specified regulations.
Under the decision, the sale of "sealed" alcoholic beverages is restricted to a number of neighborhoods in the city, namely Bab Toma, Al-Qassaa, and Bab Sharqi, within "licensed premises according to a commercial construction license designated for this activity".
Additionally, the decision specifies a distance of no less than 75 meters between outlets selling alcoholic beverages and each of places of worship (mosques and churches), cemeteries, and schools of various kinds, taking into account a 20-meter radius around police stations and official departments.
The decision requires store owners to provide a "documented commitment at the notary public that alcoholic beverages will not be served in the store by the glass", under penalty of license cancellation and closure of the violating store.
The governorate granted a three-month grace period for outlets that sell sealed alcoholic beverages in the city of Damascus to align their operations with the provisions of the new decision.
