Damascus, April 4 (SANA) – The Ministry of Information said that the Syrian government takes all reports of abductions or disappearances seriously and is committed to protecting citizens regardless of sect, ethnicity or religion.
In a statement issued Saturday, The foreign media department at the Information Ministry said that every complaint related to abduction cases is investigated by the relevant authorities, noting that the Ministry of Interior established a special investigative committee last July to review complaints and allegations related to such incidents.
The statement criticized a recent report published by the New York Times, describing it as lacking the standards of professional investigative journalism.
According to the statement, much of the report’s evidence relied on anonymous testimonies or accounts from unspecified individuals, without clear links to the cases discussed. It added that the article moved quickly from limited evidence to broad interpretations, portraying the incidents as retaliatory attacks against the Alawite community.
The Foreign Media Department said this approach reflects a pattern of stereotypical narratives, including invoking the image of a “jihadist” actor to fill gaps in evidence and support generalized conclusions. It also noted that the report did not provide clear information about the identities of the alleged perpetrators, relying instead on descriptions of the victims’ psychological conditions.
The department added that prior to publication, it informed the newspaper’s reporter of the Ministry of Interior’s willingness to cooperate and provided access to the findings of the special investigative committee. Authorities also requested details of the cases cited in the report for evidence-based review.
According to the statement, the information provided by the reporter was insufficient to support a comprehensive investigation, although some overlaps were identified with the committee’s findings and were discussed during an extended meeting.
Despite this cooperation, the department said the published article did not include the Ministry of Interior’s findings regarding the cases cited in the report, nor did it present them as a response to the allegations.
Instead, the ministry’s investigative results were referenced only in a general and decontextualized manner, the statement said, resulting in a one-sided presentation lacking cross-verification and undermining a basic principle of investigative journalism.
The department noted that the Ministry of Interior’s investigative committee had already announced its conclusions during a press conference last November, confirming that no evidence was found of systematic abductions of women targeting any group within Syrian society.
Kh.A
