Syrian Authorities Release Prisoners in Presidential Amnesty

A picture from above shows the Eid al-Fitr prayer in a mosque in Idlib, northwest Syria (AFP)
A picture from above shows the Eid al-Fitr prayer in a mosque in Idlib, northwest Syria (AFP)
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Syrian Authorities Release Prisoners in Presidential Amnesty

A picture from above shows the Eid al-Fitr prayer in a mosque in Idlib, northwest Syria (AFP)
A picture from above shows the Eid al-Fitr prayer in a mosque in Idlib, northwest Syria (AFP)

Dozens of prisoners were released in Syria on Monday under the general amnesty issued on the eve of Eid al-Fitr.

A presidential decree called for “granting a general amnesty for terrorist crimes committed by Syrians” before April 30, 2022, “except for those leading to the death of a person,” the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.

The new amnesty is considered the widest since the start of the conflict in the country in 2011, according to SANA.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Monday that around 60 detainees, some of whom have been detained for 10 years, have been released across Syria.

According to the new decree, “tens of thousands of detainees” are expected to be released, many of whom are accused of “terrorism offences,” which director of SOHR Rami Abdel Rahman described as “a loose label used to convict those who are arbitrarily arrested.”

SOHR data shows that more than 105,000 detainees have been killed under torture in regime prisons since 2011.

Sources reported the return of a number of detainees to their families on the morning of the first day of Eid al-Fitr, as well as the release of dozens of prisoners from several Syrian governorates, including detainees in Sednaya Military Prison, which is one of the most dangerous detention centers inspired by the Soviet architectural style.

Among the released were people who have been sentenced to death, including a detainee from the town of Al-Otaiba in Eastern Ghouta. Others had been detained for more than ten years while their relatives did not have any information about their fate.

President Bashar al-Assad has previously issued several amnesty decrees, the last of which was in May last year, weeks before his re-election as president for a fourth tenure.

Half a million people have entered regime prisons and detention centers since 2011, with around 100,000 dying under torture or as a result of horrific detention conditions, according to SOHR.

Human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, accuse the Syrian regime of exploiting anti-terror laws to “condemn peaceful activists.” The Syrian regime is also accused of torturing inmates to death, of rape, sexual assaults and extrajudicial executions.



Mikati Instructs Lebanon’s Institutions to Cooperate with HTS

 Activists carry Lebanese and Syrian flags, along with pictures of journalist Samir Kassir, who was assassinated by the former Syrian regime, during a demonstration in Beirut (EPA).
 Activists carry Lebanese and Syrian flags, along with pictures of journalist Samir Kassir, who was assassinated by the former Syrian regime, during a demonstration in Beirut (EPA).
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Mikati Instructs Lebanon’s Institutions to Cooperate with HTS

 Activists carry Lebanese and Syrian flags, along with pictures of journalist Samir Kassir, who was assassinated by the former Syrian regime, during a demonstration in Beirut (EPA).
 Activists carry Lebanese and Syrian flags, along with pictures of journalist Samir Kassir, who was assassinated by the former Syrian regime, during a demonstration in Beirut (EPA).

Communication channels have been opened between the Lebanese state and the Syrian Interim Government. Diplomats conveyed a message from HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa to Lebanese officials, stating that the new Syrian government has no issues with the Lebanese state.
HTS said that its problem lingers with Hezbollah, which supported the Assad regime in its attacks on the Syrian people, occupied Syrian territories, and displaced its residents.
A source close to caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati indicated that the prime minister received the Syrian message “very positively” and began working toward establishing stable relations with Syria. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, the source disclosed that Mikati had instructed all official institutions to collaborate with HTS, which now oversees security in Syrian territories, and to coordinate on mutual security matters between the two nations.
The first tangible result of this cooperation was a meeting held on Wednesday between a delegation from HTS and the Lebanese General Security agency at the latter’s office near the Masnaa border crossing in the Bekaa Valley. The talks resulted in agreements on coordination frameworks to ensure security on both sides of the border.
The source explained that Mikati’s primary focus is on organizing and securing the borders. Recently, he received reports from the Lebanese Army indicating that Syrian authorities had closed 80% of the illegal crossings previously used by smugglers. The source described this as a reassuring development.
In a sign of reconciliation, the source close to Mikati noted that Turkish and Qatari envoys delivered a message confirming that the new Syrian government does not intend to revisit the conflicts of the Syrian war or seek revenge against Bashar al-Assad’s allies, including Hezbollah. The message stressed that Syria has no plans to retaliate against Hezbollah for its actions during the war, such as detaining Syrian opposition figures in Lebanon, provided that Hezbollah withdraws from Syria and ceases all military and security activities there.
Further reflecting this shift, a security source told Asharq Al-Awsat that HTS had previously facilitated the safe transfer of dozens of Hezbollah fighters and their families from Syria to Lebanon without harming or targeting them.
Despite these developments, there has yet to be any official communication between the Lebanese government and Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the transitional leader of Syria, even though two weeks have passed since the fall of the Assad regime.
Former Lebanese minister Rashid Derbas commented that Mikati had recently made an exploratory visit to Ankara to understand how the situation in Syria is unfolding. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Derbas stated that the armed factions now responsible for security in Syria face a major test of their ability to maintain stability until a new political authority is established through free and fair elections reflecting the will of the Syrian people. He noted that the Syrian Army no longer has a presence on the ground.
Derbas added that while Syrian statements about relations with Lebanon have been positive, Lebanon must remain cautious and alert to the possibility of chaos erupting in Syria and spilling over into its borders.