Journalistic investigation documents testimonies of Alawite women about kidnapping, violence

A BBC investigation has revealed testimonies from Syrian women of the Alawite sect who were kidnapped and abused in coastal areas following the fall of the Ba'ath regime in December 2014.

The BBC confirmed that it has changed the names of the victims and their families to protect their privacy and safety.

"Ramia was preparing for a family picnic, on a warm summer day in her village in Latakia province in western Syria, when a white car drove up. Three armed men got out, saying they were government security forces, and dragged her into the vehicle. The men beat when she started crying and screaming," according to what she said.

"One of them asked if I was Sunni or Alawite. When I said Alawite, they began insulting the sect," she added.

Ramia spoke quietly as she described being forced to wear a full body covering and niqab - a veil which leaves just the eye area exposed. She said she was locked in an underground room furnished with a bed and a dresser, on which lay toiletries and a condom.

Ramia is one of dozens of women reported kidnapped since the fall of the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

The Syrian Feminist Lobby (SFL), an advocacy group for women's rights, says to BBC that it has recorded reports - from families, media and other sources - of more than 80 women who have gone missing, most of them are of Alawite sect. It says it has confirmed 26 of those cases to be kidnappings.

The Syrian Interim Government denies the existence of such a phenomenon, acknowledging only one kidnapping case at a press conference in early November. However, a security source in one of the coastal regions, who preferred to remain anonymous, confirmed to the BBC that kidnappings had occurred, indicating that investigations had been launched and those involved, including security personnel, had been dismissed from service.

The BBC managed to reach five of the abducted girls and their families. Some of them recounted to the broadcaster the details of their abduction and the assaults they suffered, while the fate of others remains unknown.

"Alawite women were cleated to be sabaya"

BBC continued that" Ramia remained held for two days, she tried to escape once and attempted suicide twice. Her captor did not speak Arabic fluently and had "Asian features", she said, adding that he removed her niqab and took photos."

A woman living in the same building, who said she was the captor's wife, explained the photo "was to determine her price for sale", Ramia said, adding that the woman told her "many" others had been kidnapped before her, and that some had been raped and released, while others had been "sold".

Nesma, a mother in her 30s, told the BBC she was taken from her village, also in Latakia province, and driven away in a van with curtained windows.

Her voice shook over the phone as she described being held for seven days in a room with high windows that appeared to be in an industrial facility, and interrogated by three men about the residents of her village and any links to the former regime.

She said her captors were all masked and spoke in the Syrian Arabic dialect. She says they told her "Alawite women were created to be sabaya" - an archaic Arabic term meaning "female captives" and used by some Islamist extremists to refer to women treated as sex slaves.

Her captors raped her multiple times, she said: "All I could think about was death - that I would die and leave my child without a mother."

Leen, another teenager, endured beatings, threats at gunpoint and daily sexual assault, her mother Hasna told the BBC. Her captor kept his face covered, spoke poor Arabic and boasted about taking part in killings of Alawites during March's violence, Hasna said.

"He used to call our girls sabaya, because 'they do not believe in God'," Hasna says adding: "But when Leen discussed religious matters with him, his attitude changed, and he began to treat her kindlier, according to the investigation."

"Samples of harm"

Alawites are generally seen as supporters of former President Bashar al-Assad, who belongs to the same sect, although many have faced repression and arrest for their political opposition. Following the fall of Assad's regime, their fears of reprisals have intensified, particularly in light of the bloody violence and mass killings that occurred on the coast last March.

Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Christine Beckerle, explained to the BBC that survivors' testimonies revealed "patterns of abuse that go beyond the abduction itself; families have received evidence indicating that the kidnaped were subjected to physical abuse in some cases. In three cases documented by the organization, there were strong indications that the abducted women were forced into marriage, including at least one minor."

Amnesty International reported that in almost all the cases it documented, families had reported the abductions to the police or security services but had received no new, meaningful information and felt no tangible progress in the investigations. The organization added, "Those responsible must be held accountable and provided with reparations. Failure to do so constitutes a violation of human rights."

For its part, the Interior Ministry of the Interim Government announced in early November the results of an investigation by a committee it had formed that summer to examine complaints and allegations regarding the abduction of women and girls on the Syrian coast. The ministry stated that 41 out of 42 allegations were found to be false, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

"Fear and stress"

Leen arrived home late at night wearing a black niqab, carrying with her the stories of weeks of abduction and numerous threats should she reveal any of them. Her mother recounts that Leen underwent a series of questioning sessions after her return, during which the mother felt "concern and sympathy" from the security personnel, but no results were reported even after several months.

As for Nesma, who said that "the sheikh responsible for her kidnappers decided to release her after a week of detention," she also went to the security authorities, who treated her "with mockery and rudeness," as she described it.

She added, "They said they knew the terrorist groups that kidnapped me, but when I went to close the police report, they asked me to change my statement and claim that I was out on a picnic."

Nesma is not the only one who was asked to change her statement after her abduction, according to what the BBC has been informed.

The BBC also tried to contact another woman who had just returned from abduction after being beaten and humiliated, but she refused to speak. She noted that she was afraid to speak to the media, especially after "security personnel asked her to change her story," which she refused, according to a relative of her.

As for Ramia, she stated that she felt some interest from the police upon her return, but after the kidnapper was identified, they stopped answering her family's repeated calls to follow up on the investigation. The family then received a series of anonymous threatening phone calls, she recounted, which led her to decide to leave the country.

Ali, a man in his thirties whose wife, Nour, disappeared while on her way to visit family in a coastal village, recounts that he knows the kidnapper's identity and has shared all his information with the security services, but they are still waiting. Ali appeared increasingly distraught and heartbroken each time the BBC contacted him. In one phone call, he broke down in tears, saying, "I'm in pain day and night. I spend all my time alone in the forest, praying for my wife and for her return." His wife did return several weeks later, but they declined to give details about the circumstances of her abduction.

Somaya refuses to remain silent about what happened to her underage daughter, who was kidnapped from her village while on her way to the grocery store. She told the BBC that the kidnappers "sexually assaulted my little girl for ten consecutive days," adding, "As families of kidnapped girls, we shouldn't deny what happened to us."