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Syrian President Bashar Assad’s decreed amnesty last month seems nothing more than a false promise of freedom, analysts say.
On June 9th, after winning a controversial Presidential election held in only regime-controlled areas, Assad issued the amnesty which should have freed the near 100,000 prisoners human rights groups say have been detained since the rebellion against the Assad regime began in 2011. Another 50,000 are thought to be held in the regime’s military intelligence branches. Crucially, many detained under the anti-terror law, used to lock up Assad’s opponents, should have been released by the amnesty.
But lawyers say that less than 1,500 detainees have been set free, and very few of them are political activists or other civilians who had been caught up in the raids.
Lama Fakih, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, said, “The Syrian government’s failure to release people, and their continuing to hold them in horrific conditions is something that should be condemned.It appears the amnesty was issued in a bid to gain legitimacy. Praise is not due”.
“With some exceptions, it appears mainly those who were released had been held for non-political reasons. The important thing to remember is that these people should not have been detained to begin with”, Fakih added.
Syrian human rights activist Sema Nassar called the amnesty promise a “fraud”.
“It’s absurd that the decree got so much attention, considering how small the numbers have been in comparison to those still held.Take the instance of (opposition bastion) Daraya, near Damascus. Some 3,000 people from that town alone are currently in jail, all over accusations connected to the uprising. Only 20 of them, including one woman, have been released in the past month”, she said.
Many of the released were either rebel commanders or soldiers suspected of deserting the army.
“This is not an amnesty, it’s a military operation. The amnesty was an incentive for fighters to hand over their weapons and to stop battling the government”, Nassar added.
Of the known dissidents imprisoned, only a few, including Jalal Nawfal, a well-known critic of the regime, and Hazem Waked, have been released.