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| Assad declares amnesty but excludes terrorists |
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.jpg) Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued an amnesty for all crimes committed in the country "up until today," with the notable exception of "terrorist crimes," state television said on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Assad "decreed a general amnesty for crimes committed before October 23," except for those carried out by "terrorists".
The decree applies only to criminals who surrender to the authorities and not those on the run, the report said. It was not immediately clear if the amnesty includes those in prison.
The decree replaces death penalty with life sentence of hard labor or long imprisonment sentence according to the crime.
It also replaces life sentence of hard labor with 20 years imprisonment with hard labor, and it replaces the life imprisonment sentence with 20 years imprisonment.
The decree grants amnesty for the whole of life and permanent sentence for people with incurable diseases and the whole permanent sentence for people who completed seventy years of age by the issuance of the decree.
It also includes the whole life sentence for those who completed seventy years of age providing that the crime had been committed before they were sixty.
Crimes of smuggling weapons and drug trafficking are excluded from the provision of this decree.
The decree's terms don't include the fugitives from justice unless they turn themselves in within 30 days for internal flight.
The decree came as an international proposal has been made by UN-Arab League Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi for a truce in the Arab country.
Brahimi called for a temporary truce between the Syrian forces and foreign-backed insurgents during the four-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) starting on October 26.
The Syrian government says it will support the truce proposal only if the Western countries and their regional allies stop supporting and financing the insurgents.
Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011. The Syrian government holds some Western countries and their regional allies, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, responsible for arming and funding the opposition and foreign insurgents.
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| Last Updated on 23 October 2012 18:28 |