Syria: Assad Approves Death Penalty; AL Chief Says Don’t Intervene

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has signed into effect a law imposing the death penalty on anyone arming “terrorists”, state media reported on Tuesday. “The law provides for the death penalty for anyone providing weapons or helping to provide weapons intended for the carrying out of terrorist acts,” the official SANA news agency said.

The decree also imposes life imprisonment with hard labour for arms smuggling “for profit or to carry out acts of terrorism,” and 15 years’ hard labour for arms smuggling for other purposes.

Meanwhile, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Dr. Nabil el-Arabi stated that the amendments to the protocol of the League monitor mission to Syria do not affect the essence of the mission. He said the observers who will travel to Syria are Arabs, and perhaps from Islamic countries. Their goal will be to provide protection to the Syrian people through their presence on the ground and prepare the ground for dialogue between the government and the opposition in order to decide the future of power in Syria.

Al Arabi noted that the Western countries do not intend to interfere in Syria because of the complexity surrounding the crisis. His remarks come as Washington expressed doubts over Syria’s desire real to allow the observers enter its territory. A spokesman for the U.S. State Department said Washington wants to see action. “We saw a lot of promises made by the Syrian regime.”