Jurists, Academics: Calls for Foreign Interference in Syrian Internal Affairs Crimes Punishable under Syrian Law

Jurists and academics said that calls for foreign interference in Syria’s internal affairs and providing weapons for terrorists amount to support to an armed insurgency, which gives the state full right and power to use whatever means necessary to confront them.

In statements to SANA, they said those who target the security forces, the army and citizens are armed terrorist groups serving foreign agendas which seek to undermine national unity in Syria, considering such acts as crimes punishable under the Syrian law.

Dr. Abdul-Jabbar al-Hneis, Head of the Penal Code Department at the Faculty of Law, Damascus University, said Article 264 of the Penal Code states that every Syrian who contacts a foreign country to urge it to launch aggression on Syria or provide tools for that end is punishable by hard labor for life, indicating that if the call is to lead to the aggression taking place, the penalty amounts to capital punishment.

On the acts of terrorist groups against the law-enforcement members, security forces and the army, he said that such acts fall under Article 304 of the Penal Code which defined terrorism as all acts intended to create a state of terror and are perpetrated by such means as explosives, inflammatory substances, poisonous or prohibited substances.

He said that articles 304 and 305 of the Penal Code are applicable to the armed terrorist groups who are committing killings and terrorist acts against citizens, security forces and the army, which gives the state full right to pursue and prosecute them to provide security and stability for society.

Dean of the Political Science at Damascus University Ahmad Nasouri said what is called ”armed opposition” is in fact an armed insurgency targeting security and stability of the country, stressing that this designation is based on political and legal bases that give the state full right and power in using all available means to eradicate the insurgency.

He added that the US and Western countries seek to destabilize Syria and its constitutional power to undermine its national decision and sovereignty.

Nasouri lashed out at the foreign sides which dismissed the existence of armed terrorist groups in Syria, asserting that the terrorist groups are committing atrocities and they themselves recently declared their intention to carry out armed operations.

The jurists and academics said that calls of the so-called opposition for killing Syrian citizens are incitement crimes punishable under the Syrian law.