Syrians jailed or charged on minor crimes will be exonerated under an amnesty issued Friday apparently to mark the fourth anniversary of Hereditary President Bashar Assad's ascendancy to power, Syria's official news agency reported.
| The old Royal Pardon routine, is it? |
The agency, SANA, said the amnesty offer covers offenses like theft, forgery, military desertion and other white-collar crimes committed before Thursday. No details were provided on how many people could be cleared under the amnesty, but the number is expected to reach thousands. Saturday marks the fourth anniversary of the Syrian Parliament's swearing in of Bashar as president. Bashar was elected Syrian leader on July 10, 2000, a month after the death of his father, President Hafez Assad.
| They love him in Syria, y'know... |
Bashar's amnesty applies to people serving prison terms or facing trial on minor charges. Fugitive criminals wanting to take advantage of the amnesty must turn themselves in to authorities within three months. Under the amnesty, prisoners will be freed or people facing court cleared of their charges. However, it does not cover political prisoners. Political activist and lawyer Anwar Al-Bunni urged the government to include political prisoners in the amnesty. "Syrian authorities continue to ignore all calls for releasing political prisoners and their inhumane situation," Al-Bunni told The Associated Press. "What is important for them (the government) is to issue amnesties for those who have committed crimes of robbing people and those who have looted their money."
| Also any hard boyz who might be in jug, rather than wearing police uniforms... |
Since becoming president, Bashar has routinely released hundreds of prisoners under amnesties coinciding with the anniversary of his coming to power. But he has also clamped down on pro-democracy activists, showing there are limits to the dissent that his administration is willing to tolerate. |