Amnesty

The topic of amnesty is a vital one in transitional justice scholarship. As a political tool it has historically provided the state the means to suppress dissent, compromise with its enemies, as well as to protect its own state agents implicated in crimes. Amnesty originates from the Greek word amnestia, which means ‘forgetfulness’ or ‘oblivion’. The end of World War II and the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials mark the alteration in state practice as concerns holding individuals accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Many countries have passed amnesty laws, referring to specific events in the country’s history, for war crimes or crimes against humanity, or for wider categories of crimes that include these two crimes. Afghanistan has a history of amnesties beginning in 1979 with the amnesty issued by the Soviet-backed revolutionary forces, which asserted that the amnesty was a ‘humanitarian act’.

https://www.routledge.com/An-Introduction-to-Trans...