Statistics released by the Terrrorism Court reveal that the number of cases submitted for the release of detainees rose dramatically to reach 100 requests per day, but approximately 70% of these requests are rejected because they lack legal basis.
The statistics showed that the number of release requests rejected in the past two days exceeded 458, while the number of requests approved by the investigation judges of the court reached 100 cases.
According to the statistics, the number of approved requests reached 5,000 out of 12,000 applications submitted during 2014, noting that during the first months of the current year, the number of approved requests reached 2,500.
A source from the court stressed that the release requests are subjected to certain mechanisms; there is no chance for the release of any detainee involved in murder, theft and looting, or who took up arms against the government or committed acts that destabilized the security of the country.
The source said that the number of requests increased significantly recently, particularly because the court will reconsider the sentences imposed on the detainees early next year.
The source pointed out that the number of lawsuits solved during the current year amounted to about 4,000 cases, adding that this is a large number compared to the number of cases pending before the court, and stressed that the goal of the court is to solve the cases as soon as possible.
Law professor, Mohamad Khair Akkam, criticized the role of some of the judges because they did not activate the release procedures, or used the arrest procedure incorrectly, explaining that some judges consider that the arrest of a person is part of the punishment, which is actually not the real role of the arrest. The arrest of a person, he said, takes place for two reasons: first, to protect his life, and second, to prevent the course of the investigation from any external influence.
Akkam told al-Watan that in the absence of the reasons mentioned above, the arrest of a person becomes unnecessary, pointing out that anti-terrorism laws did not put the necessary regulations and that caused a big problem in the release of the detainees; it also explains the large number of requests rejected by the court.
Akkam stressed the need to activate the release procedure by applying necessary regulations. The problem lies in the anti-terrorism law and the criminal procedure code and their application by some of the judges who did not activate the role of the release procedure, explaining that some of them justify the rejection of release requests because the detainee did not complete the custody period.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
