Assad pardons criminals in Syria

The report says prisoners convicted of criminal acts before April 16 will be included in the amnesty, which was announced in a presidential decree yesterday. No further details were provided.

Assad has issued several pardons, including for those convicted of acts against the state during the two-year crisis, usually ahead of national holidays.

The latest decree comes on the eve of the anniversary of the 1946 withdrawal of French troops from Syria that marked the end of France’s mandate of the Arab country.

Syria’s uprising began in March 2011 and has since turned into a civil war that has killed more than 70,000 people, according to the United Nations.