Syrian News Report
In a statement, the Ministry of Information refuted the New York Times report on abductions in Syria, stressing that the Syrian government is taking reports of kidnappings seriously and has established a special investigative committee to thoroughly review the complaints.
In its statement, the ministry stressed that the American newspaper's report on the kidnapping allegations relied on an undocumented narrative, moved to ready-made conclusions that portray the events as sectarian targeting without evidence and ignored the cooperation of the Ministry of Interior.
The ministry indicated that the American newspaper presented its report as an investigative work, but it seemed closer to a narrative than a professional investigative journalism, as most of the evidence contained in it is based on anonymous testimonies or accounts of unidentified people, without any clear connection to the aforementioned files.
The Ministry of Interior examined the information provided by the reporter, which was not sufficient to open a comprehensive investigation, but noted some intersections with the committee's findings, and shared these findings during an extensive meeting However, the published report did not include the findings of the Ministry of Interior related to the aforementioned files.
The New York Times Novel
The American newspaper based its report on the testimonies of some citizens who demanded better protection, pointing to the occurrence of kidnapping incidents, citing the story of the citizen "Sami Al-Ezzo", who was quoted as witnessing six masked men who kidnapped his brother and took him to an unknown truck, before receiving a ransom demand on his mobile phone ten days after the incident.
On the other hand, analytical readings of the security scene were based on previous statements by President Ahmed al-Shara, who confirmed that there is a state of security and stability currently, despite small incidents here and there, explaining that getting rid of the consequences of decades of "bad policies" is a process that requires time and cannot be accomplished in a few days or weeks, stressing that the state is continuing to address these gaps.
Syrian Interior Ministry: No evidence
The Investigation Committee of the Ministry of Interior announced the results of its work at a press conference held last November, stressing that there was no evidence of systematic kidnappings targeting women or any component of Syrian society.
The Ministry of Interior revealed during its presentation the results of investigations it started since July 2025 in complaints and allegations about kidnappings, and said that after the investigation, 41 out of 42 allegations were found to be untrue, and in only one case it was proven that a real kidnapping crime occurred, in which the girl was returned safely after the security services followed up on the case.
Interior Ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba confirmed in a previous press conference that the ministry has followed with great interest complaints that have reached the internal security units, and the spread of news about cases of abduction of women and girls in the Syrian coast on social media.
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