Assad grants general pardon as UN truce hopes dim

The Syrian government has issued a general pardon for crimes committed before October 23, 2012, the state-sponsored news agency reported on Tuesday.

Likely issued to coincide with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, a four-day celebration which begins Friday, the decree is not a blanket amnesty, but rather reduces the severity of punishment for crimes committed.

According to SANA, the state-sponsored news agency, “The decree replaces the death penalty with a life sentence of hard labor, or a long imprisonment sentence, according to the crime. It also replaces a life sentence of hard labor with 20 years’ imprisonment with hard labor, and replaces a life imprisonment sentence with 20 years’ imprisonment.”

Convictions of smuggling weapons or trafficking in illicit drugs are expressly not covered by the amnesty.

Also on Tuesday, the leader of the main Syrian opposition group said chances were slim that a UN-proposed truce can take hold in Syria this week, partly because the plan is too vague.

The UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, has proposed that both sides lay down their arms during Eid al-Adha. However, neither Syrian President Bashar Assad nor rebels fighting to topple him have committed to a truce.

Abdelbaset Sieda, head of the opposition Syrian National Council, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that rebel fighters were willing to halt fighting during the holiday, but would respond if attacked.

Sieda says he doubted the regime would honor the ceasefire and that Brahimi didn’t have “any mechanism to observe the situation.”