Document File: Syria

President Bashar Assad's issuance of Pardon Law No. 17 on 22 November 2000 coincides with our people's jubilation of the 30th anniversary of the glorious corrective movement led by immortal leader Hafiz al-Asad. This noble gesture by President Bashar al-Asad is within the framework of his concern for the individual and to give the chance to a large number of convicted, detained and pursued persons to correct their behaviour and erase their crimes and their effects wholly or partly and to give them hope and optimism to return to social life as effective and productive members. The general pardon is an opportunity for them to adapt their behaviour to society and to respect and observe this law without deviation.

This great offering by the great heart will instil happiness, joy, thanks and gratitude in the heats of children, spouses, brothers, fathers and sons. It proves the leader's love for the masses and his concern for the needs and requirements of the homeland and citizens.

The public prosecutors, the criminal and misdemeanour courts and the investigation departments will start implementing the general pardon law immediately. The pardon law covers crimes committed before 16th November 2000. It covers the crime of leaving work or not attending it for the engineers, who are obliged to serve the state in accordance with Law 49 of the year 1974. The law covers all misdemeanours, such as causing death by mistake, infractions of laws on supply, pricing and doctoring of goods, traffic accidents and violations, ordinary theft and electricity and water theft.

The pardon covers the full punishment for internal desertion confined to army and police personnel. It is a misdemeanour penalty, provided the deserters surrender themselves within 60 days from the date of the issuance of this pardon.

The pardon covers the full punishment for infraction of the military conscription law in Article 56 (delay in coming forward for a medical test), Article 57 (delay in responding to a call-up), Article 60 (not telling about a change of address), Article 70 (not carrying ID whilst driving) and other infractions.

The pardon covers traffic violations, violations of administrative, municipal and health orders, violations of opening and closing of shops and violations involving wastage of water. The pardon covers the reform and care measures for juveniles in the misdemeanours committed by them, except criminal crimes, including the handing over the juveniles to an establishment or society or putting them in an observation centre or reformatory.

The pardon covers all the punishment for the crimes of smuggling specified in Legislative Decree 13 for 1974 (amended). What is meant by the crimes of smuggling specified in this paragraph are the crimes of smuggling goods and other materials, except the crimes of drugs smuggling and the crimes of smuggling accompanied by resisting the competent authorities with the force of arms.

The pardon covers all the punishment for the perpetrators of crimes specified in Legislative Decree No 24 for the year 1986 (amended), the crimes specified in Decree No 6 dated 22nd April 2000 and Articles of 15, 23, 24 of the Economic Penal Code issued by Legislative Decree 37 for the year 1996 concerning resisting the socialist regime and smuggling funds and preventing their repatriation.

The pardon covers one-third of the punishment for all felonies punishable under the economic penal code issued by Decree 37 for the year 1966. The law gives a new chance to money hoarders to benefit from its regulations. It pardons all their punishment provided that they return the money to depositors within a year from the issuance of the law. The pardon law also covers debtors to the agricultural bank and who are referred to in Paragraph 5 of Law No 2 dated 3rd April 2000.