Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued a legislative decree on Sunday granting a "general amnesty" for military desertion and minor crimes committed before Sept. 22, 2024, according to the official state news agency SANA.

The decree includes a full pardon for those convicted of internal and external desertion, as outlined in the Syrian military penal code. However, the amnesty excludes those still in hiding or on the run unless they surrender within three months for internal desertion and four months for external desertion.

The amnesty also covers minor offenses (misdemeanors) and violations, with exceptions for crimes deemed a "serious assault on society and the state." Crimes related to bribery, forgery, public decency and certain types of theft were also excluded.

Additionally, the decree does not extend to violations of construction laws, economic crimes, electricity theft, fraudulent use of communication services, consumer protection laws, exam-related crimes, assaults on forests and offenses involving the use of foreign currency instead of the Syrian pound.

Assad routinely issues amnesty decrees as a gesture of goodwill towards the international community but they never really cover areas needed to allow for the return of refugees. Arbitrary arrests, compulsory army conscription and destruction of homes are among the risks to which the returnees are exposed.