Russian court refuses applying Assad's amnesty to Chechen native

The Syrian President, Bashar Hafez al-Assad, has announced a general amnesty, but a Perm court refused to change the verdict and release a native of Chechnya, convicted for participating in the Syrian conflict on the side of militants, from his colony.

According to the court judgement, in January 2016, Ayubkhan Alkhazov was sentenced to five years and six months in penal colony. The court established that in January 2015, Alkhazov flew from Astrakhan to Turkey, from where he moved to Syria, where, until April, he was trained to use weapons in a militant camp. On July 4, 2015, he left the illegal armed formation (IAF), met his father and returned to his homeland.

Prior to his detention, Alkhazov did not declare to law enforcement bodies about the voluntary cessation of criminal activities, but during the investigation he fully admitted his guilt and repented; this circumstance was taken into account when sentencing.

The convict has considered that the verdict is subjected to termination, since in October 2018, the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, signed a decree "On General Amnesty", the "Kommersant" writes. However, the Perm court rejected Alkhazov's petition, pointing out that changes in the legislation of another country do not apply to a Russian citizen.