Syria's Assad grants amnesties before presidential election

Syria's state news agency says President Bashar Assad has issued a decree granting amnesty and reducing sentences for several categories of crime committed before May 2

DAMASCUS, Syria -- Syrian President Bashar Assad issued a decree Sunday granting amnesty and reducing sentences for several categories of crime committed before May 2, state news agency SANA said. SANA did not give a reason for the amnesty but it came days before Muslims celebrate Eid el-Fitr, the feast that marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. It also comes ahead of the May 26 presidential elections, which Assad will most likely win for a fourth, seven-year term in office. Since Syria’s conflict began in 2011, Assad has issued similar amnesties, the latest of which came in September 2019. The conflict has killed half a million people and displaced half the country’s prewar population including more than 5 millions who are refugees abroad. SANA described Sunday’s presidential decree as “the most comprehensive amnesty decree for perpetrators of crimes, misdemeanors and felonies.”