The president of Syria, Bashar al-Assadhas approved a general amnesty for crimes committed before November 16although with exceptions as blood crimes, escapees o weapons smuggling. The decree provides for the reduction of some penalties.
Los sentenced to death who can benefit from this measure of grace will begin to comply life imprisonment and those who had a life sentence pending will have their sentence reduced by 20 years.
The decree, published by the state news agency SANA, says that sentences will be completely lifted for some convicts, including those who have committed minor crimes, those suffering from incurable diseases and those over 70 years of age.
Assad has granted several amnesties in recent years. In early September, he issued a decree abolishing the notorious “military field courts” that human rights groups accuse of handing down death sentences without due process to prisoners.
On the other hand, the international Court of Justice (ICJ) has demanded that Syria “take all measures at its disposal to prevent” torture and inhuman treatment of its opponents, in a case initiated in The Hague by Canada and the Netherlands, which denounced forced disappearances, sexual violence and use of chemical weapons since 2011 in the Arab country.