In early May 2025, social media accounts, many linked to pro-Assad circles, began circulating claims that Mira Jalal Thabet, a 22-year-old Alawite woman from Talkalakh in Homs, had been kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam after being seen in Idlib wearing Islamic attire alongside a Sunni man who announced their religious marriage. Some users invoked imagery of ISIS-era abductions, alleging Mira was a victim of “enslavement.”
However, independent fact-checkers, debunked the claims, confirming that Mira had voluntarily left her family home due to pressure over her relationship and married a man, Ahmad, she had known for several years. Public interviews with both Mira and Ahmad affirmed that the marriage was consensual and legal.
Despite this, online rumors continued to circulate, prompting an internal investigation by local authorities. The following is an exclusive interview with a representative from the Office of the Interior Ministry, conducted by L24, regarding the outcome of that investigation and the broader implications of the case.
_______________________________
L24: What were the reasons that prompted the Ministry of Interior to intervene in Mira’s case and mediate on her behalf?
Office of the Interior Ministry: “As for the Ministry of Interior’s interest in the case, it was because it became a public issue, being perceived as a kidnapping case—when, in fact, it was not. There was a claim, and we had a formal complaint from the father.
“The father claimed his daughter was kidnapped. We did not intervene on behalf of anyone; rather, we acted based on a formal complaint from the Public Prosecutor concerning a kidnapping charge. The father reported that he had dropped his daughter off at the Teachers’ Training Institute, but she entered the institute and did not come out. He entered the institute himself and did not find her there.
“Among his claims, he said that his daughter had been communicating with a young man for some time, and he had confiscated her phone as a result. Based on the father’s statement, an official report was opened, surveillance cameras were reviewed, and it was revealed that she had left with the young man.
“After continuing the investigation, we traced the phone numbers, identified the owners, and followed several procedures until we determined the young man’s identity. After contacting him, he informed us that he had married the girl. According to the young man, he had known the girl for over two years and had spoken with her father, who rejected the idea of marriage.
“On the same day the kidnapping claim was made, the young man had submitted a request to formalize the marriage, and there is an ongoing court case to establish the marriage—which is unrelated to us.”
L24: Who are the parties inciting or supporting such stories, and what are their motives?
Office of the Interior Ministry: “There are no inciting parties or motives—it’s simply a love story, and love is blind. The father did not approve of the relationship, and what happened, happened.
“This is not a unique case, nor is it because she belongs to a different sect. There are many similar cases, and these are studied from a social perspective. We have no connection to such matters. We were simply notified of the girl’s disappearance, we followed up on the case, found her, and returned her to her father without siding with either party.
“Nor was there any repression or anything of the sort; rather, social media is the main source of corruption. Everyone has mobile phones, and through communication between young men and women, such situations arise.
“As police, we are concerned that the situation might escalate into an ‘honor killing,’ so we must alert the Public Prosecutor to this risk. The girl must be returned to her family in a smooth, non-confrontational manner to prevent anger and the possibility of the case turning into a murder.
“There are many similar cases, often resulting from the deterioration of moral and religious values that lead to such outcomes. Of course, there have been similar cases, such as a different girl who was supposedly abducted but had stolen money from her family and fled with it to Damascus.”
