Assad’s remarkable amnesty decision in Syria

Syrian President Bashar Assad has declared a new amnesty for defectors from the country.

In the decree signed by Assad, it was noted that those who declare their military service within 3-4 months will not be sentenced to prison. In the decree it was announced that people in the country who fled their mandatory military service would be exempt from prison if they surrender within 3 months and those who are outside the country within 4 months.

In the presidential statement, it was emphasized that the amnesty decision would cover the period prior to December 21.

The Syrian government had previously declared an amnesty with similar decrees. The amnesty declaration is seen as an important step for the return of Syrians living in many countries, including Turkey.

TURKEY-SYRIA NORMALIZATION ON THE AGENDA

It is also noteworthy that this step coincided with normalization signals coming from Turkey recently with Syria.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan used the phrase “There can be no hard feelings in politics” regarding normalization steps with Syria last month. Last week, Erdogan said: “We want to take a step as a Syria-Turkey-Russia trio. First our intelligence organizations, then our defense ministers, then our foreign ministers should come together. So let’s unite as leaders.”

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov also stated that “We view Erdogan’s proposal for a trilateral meeting involving Syria positively,” stating that Moscow is in contact with Damascus on the issue.