Syrian Families Wait to See if Presidential Amnesty Covers Loved Ones

Thousands of Syrians have been waiting near an iconic bridge in Syria since a presidential amnesty was issued earlier this week, to see if their loved ones might be among those released as a result of the amnesty decree.

A presidential amnesty decree issued by Syrian President Bashar al Assad to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan has many families anxiously waiting to see if their loved ones will benefit from the pardon.

Khattar Abou Diab, who teaches political science at the University of Paris, told VOA that he thinks the Syrian president issued his amnesty decree in order to improve his government’s image abroad after a video appeared in Britain’s The Guardian newspaper showing a 2013 massacre of prisoners in the Damascus suburb of Tadamon.