Syrian President Bashar al-Assad signed a decree on universal amnesty in the country for crimes committed before September 14 this year, in particular, the death penalty will be replaced by hard labor, the press service of the Syrian leader said on Sunday.
According to a decree published by SANA, a general amnesty covers crimes committed before September 14, 2019, and in some cases it is a mitigation of punishment.
For example, “the death penalty is being replaced by life-long hard labor,” reads one of the points of the decree. Accordingly, instead of life-long hard labor, those who fell under the amnesty will be engaged in them for 20 years, and instead of life imprisonment, convicts will serve their term within the same 20 years.
Also, according to the decree, terminally ill convicts who have reached the age of 75 at the time of signing the decree are completely exempted from any punishment. Specific cases will be considered by specially formed commissions.
It is noted that the amnesty will affect those who have fled from justice only if they voluntarily surrender to the authorities within a maximum of three months from the date of publication of the decree.