Syrian phone shop owner Abdel Razzaq Hamra was thrilled to finally be working in peace after years of being harassed and detained by security personnel enforcing an Assad-linked company's monopoly.

Before president Bashar al-Assad was ousted last month, his security forces would raid the central Damascus district where dozens of mobile stores operate in search of phones without the Emmatel company logo.

"If they would find one device without an Emmatel sticker, they would confiscate everything," said Hamra, 33.

Shuddering from fear as he recounted the story, he said he had been detained three times since 2020, lost $10,000 worth of confiscated goods and been beaten in jail.

"They accused me of not working with Emmatel... so they put me in a jail cell for 101 days," he told AFP.

War profiteers connected to the Assad clan have long dominated the country's economy, monopolising entire sectors, stifling competition and terrorising businesses.

Created in 2019, Emmatel is owned by Syrian businessman Khodr Taher, also known as Abu Ali Khodr.

The........

© International Business Times