Al-Assad issues amnesty law to political crimes and others

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday released a pardon for a large number of political prisoners of various political organizations. Their number tolls 600 prisoners.

President al-Assad also submitted a draft law providing for a general pardon of certain crimes committed before November 16, 2000 to the speaker of the People's Assembly to be submitted People's Assembly PA members.

This draft law pardons all sentences on " smaller violations " and the violations listed under the military service law as well as all listed under violations including those of traffic, and smuggling crimes, with the exception of smuggling drugs and smuggling crimes connected with resisting specialized authorities by using weapons, one third of the imprisonment sentence for the economic penalty law and the whole of the sentences for those who illegally collected money from citizens ( under pretexts to give them profits ) if those return back the money to the citizens within one year of the release of this law.