Syrian Democratic Council releases 631 detainees in Syria’s northeast

QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) announced on Thursday the release of 631 detainees of whom were sentenced on terrorism charges and had their sentences reduced.

The announcement took place in a conference held on Thursday in Qamishli with the attendance of the co-chair of the SDC, representatives of the detainees committee, and the senate board in North and East Syria.

“The 631 detainees will be released today after the conference,” Amina Omar, co-chair of SDC, said in the conference.

“253 detainees who are sentenced with terrorism charges will take advantage of the halved period of the sentence,” she added.

Those who have not been sentenced yet will take advantage of the amnesty decision after being subjected to trial, according to Omar.

The amnesty included detainees who were sentenced on terrorism charges who had been deceived, did not have their hands stained with the blood of the Syrians, and did not commit any criminal acts.

The amnesty initiative came as “a response to claims of all symposia and during the phases in which SDC visited tribes in different areas of northeast Syria,” the SDC stated in a statement Thursday.

The general amnesty was the outcome of a series of meetings by SDC in northeast Syria and due to the desires of the residents, heads, and tribal sheikhs, Yasser Suleiman, deputy co-chair of the General Council in the Autonomous Administration, said.

The Autonomous Administration responded to the initiative and issued a general amnesty aiming to build trust in the the Autonomous Administration and enhance the participation in it, according to the statement.

Additionally, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria issued on Saturday a general amnesty for all crimes committed before October 10, 2020.

Reporting by Hoshang Hassan