SYRIA: Outlawed by the DAA in 2014, Damascus introduces bill to repeal “honor killings” law

DAMASCUS – Al-Watan newspaper reported that on International Women’s Day, the People’s Assembly in Damascus referred a bill abolishing Article 548 related to honor crimes from the General Penal Code to the Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee for consideration.

Article 548 grants reduced sentences to perpetrators of so-called “honor crimes”.

Following a 2011 amendment, Article 548 states:

“The one who benefits from the mitigating excuse is who kills or hurt his wife, one of his assets, his relatives, his sister or both persons only in the crimes of witnessed adultery, or in sexual relations and immorality. However, the penalty shall be no less than two years’ imprisonment for the murder.”

The new bill stipulates that Article 548 of the Penal Code be repealed.

Before Article 548’s amendment, the killer would have been granted clemency.

“Many countries have already eliminated such laws,” said MP Ahmed Merhi (SSNP). “They didn’t accept preferring men over women by giving men reduced sentences or justifications if they killed a woman under the title of honor crimes.”

The reduced provisions that the law granted to perpetrators of honor crimes has been met with widespread criticism for decades. Moreover, many crimes have been recorded in Syria against young girls under the title of “honor crimes”.

Honor killings have been outlawed in the Democratic Autonomous Administration (DAA) of North and East Syria since its establishment in 2014.