EBRIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria (Rojava) decreed general amnesty on Tuesday for thousands of prisoners, excluding fighters and others who have committed violence. According to a statement from the Democratic Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (DAANES), "1,120 of them were released in several batches immediately after the amnesty law was issued [on September 24]." The amnesty excludes those who fought against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the leaders and trainers of terrorist organizations, and those guilty of bombings, treason, and espionage. Rojava is controlled by the Kurdish-led SDF, the partnered ground force in Syria of the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS). “Only those whose hands were not stained with the blood of Syrians,” are included, according to the statement which cited violations of DAANES law. The remaining 400 convicts will be released after serving half of their sentences, provided their crime is covered by the amnesty law and “after ensuring their good conduct during the period [of their sentences],” the statement detailed. Authorities said they pardoned 35 of the 63 female prisoners being held. Following the military defeat of ISIS in Syria in Baghouz and Hajin in early 2019, the SDF detained tens of thousands fighters, their families, violent criminals, and others for breaking the laws of the autonomous administration. Iraqis and Syrians make up the majority of the 40,000 people who have been held at the al-Hol camp in Hasaka province. Iraq announced last week that it is in the process of repatriating 4,000 people from al-Hol, but those who have committed violent crimes would not be granted return to the country. The camp has been branded a breeding ground for terrorism. In July, Rojava authorities decreed another amnesty, saying it was a response to requests from tribal leaders during a May forum. It aimed to provide reintegration opportunities for individuals who also had not committed violence. On Monday, Syrian state media reported that President Bashar al-Assad issued a decree to grant general amnesty for offenses prior to September 22, including obligatory military service breaches, deserting the military, and misdemeanors. Assad’s reported amnesty does not include those guilty of “serious assault on society and the state, bribery, some misdemeanors of forgery, attacks on public morals, and some types of theft.”
