Amnesty International responded to the enactment of Amnesty Law No. 10 of 2024 in the Autonomous Administration of the North and East Syria Region (AANES) in a press release on Tuesday.

In the press release, Amnesty International commends the new amnesty law introduction, aimed at addressing the convictions of individuals under the region’s expansive counter-terrorism laws. The legislation seeks to reduce the sentences of those who have been subjected to unfair trials in the People’s Defence Court, offering them a chance to seek relief and an opportunity to rebuild their lives.

Deputy Regional Director Aya Majzoub called on the AANES authorities to expand the scope of the law further, potentially including unlawfully prosecuted Iraqis. While the NGO welcomes the new amnesty law, Majzoub emphasized that “Amnesty International remains deeply concerned about the tens of thousands of men, women, and children in the custody of the autonomous authorities, many of whom have been held for more than five years without charge or trial.”

Majzoub further urged the UN to coordinate with AANES authorities to defeat the Islamic State armed group and initiate the investigation of individuals who have committed serious violations of international and domestic law. 

The new amnesty law relates to the defeat of the Islamic State armed group in 2019 by the Syrian Democratic Forces and a US-led coalition. In the aftermath of the military action, Amnesty International identified over 9,600 individuals who were arbitrarily and indefinitely detained for alleged connections to the Islamic State.

The systematic and gross human rights violations within the Syrian detention system have been extensively documented in a report by Amnesty International released in April 2024. Titled ‘Aftermath: Injustice, Torture, and Death in Detention in North-east Syria’, the report outlines the mistreatment that detainees are subjected to, including systematic torture, ill-treatment and violence, the presence of children in detention facilities, a lack of legal representation, forced confession and death in custody.

In recent months, both the AANES region and the government of Syria have faced heightened criticism for human rights violations occurring in detention facilities. On Monday, the family of Syrian-American humanitarian worker Maid Kamalmaz, who died in detention seven years after his unlawful arrest, filed a civil lawsuit against the government seeking compensatory and punitive damages.