Syrian president offers amnesty for crimes committed before Oct. 23

 

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (shown) issues a decree to pardon crimes committed before October 23, 2012.

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/23/268286/syrias-assad-offers-amnesty-for-crimes/

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has offered amnesty for crimes committed in the country before October 23, 2012, the Syrian state TV reports.

The Syrian president “decreed a general amnesty for crimes committed before October 23,” and not those committed by “terrorists,” the Syrian TV reported on Tuesday.

The amnesty does not apply to those criminals who remain on the run; rather, those who surrender to the government will be pardoned, the report said.

The decree came as an international proposal had been made by UN-Arab League Joint 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.