Amnesty International has responded positively to the enactment of Amnesty Law No. 10 of 2024 in the Autonomous Administration of the North and East Syria Region (AANES), as detailed in their press release on Tuesday. The organization commends the new law, which targets the reduction of sentences for individuals convicted under the region’s counter-terrorism laws through arguably flawed trials in the People’s Defence Court, potentially offering them a path to rectification and a new start.
Deputy Regional Director Aya Majzoub urged AANES authorities to broaden the law’s scope further to potentially include unlawfully prosecuted Iraqis. While welcoming the amnesty law, Majzoub pointed out the longstanding issue of tens of thousands of individuals still detained without charge or trial, many for over five years. She also called on the UN to work alongside AANES to combat the Islamic State armed group and initiate investigations into severe violations of international and domestic laws.
The amnesty law is connected to the defeat of the Islamic State in 2019 by the Syrian Democratic Forces and a US-led coalition, which led to the detention of over 9,600 individuals for alleged affiliations with the group. Amendement of these detentions, often arbitrary and indefinite, has been a focus for Amnesty International.
The extent of human rights abuses within Syrian detention systems has been thoroughly documented by Amnesty International in a report released in April 2024. The report, titled ‘Aftermath: Injustice, Torture, and Death in Detention in North-east Syria,’ outlines various forms of mistreatment, including torture, violence, detaining children, lack of legal representation, forced confessions, and deaths in custody.
Both AANES and the Syrian government have faced increasing condemnation for the conditions in their detention facilities. Recently, the family of Maid Kamalmaz, a Syrian-American humanitarian worker who died in detention following an unlawful arrest, filed a civil lawsuit against the Syrian government, seeking damages for his unlawful detention and subsequent death.
For further details on Amnesty International’s response, refer to the original source article.