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24 executed in Syria for starting wildfires

October 22, 2021 at 7:05 pm

Syrian soldiers take a break as they battle a forest fire in the Ain Shams area, in the west of Hama province, on September 10, 2020 [LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images]

Syria executed 24 people after convicting them on terrorism charges for igniting last year’s devastating wildfires, the Justice Ministry said Thursday, AP reports.

According to the report, those executed were charged with terrorist acts as they started the wildfires, the justice ministry said in a statement carried by state media on Thursday.

No details were provided on those who were executed by the regime.

According to the rights group, Amnesty International, Syrian law still gives the death penalty for offences including terrorism, arson, and army desertion.

In its latest death penalty report published this year, Amnesty said it was able to corroborate information indicating that executions took place in Syria in 2020, but said it did not have sufficient information to give a reliable minimum figure.

The death penalty is usually given to citizens as a verdict of hanging the people.

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