The Case of Mira Jalal Thabat: Allegations of Enforced Disappearance and Forced Marriage Under Suspicious Circumstances
On April 27, 2025, the family of 20-year-old Mira Jalal Thabat, from the village of Al-Mukhatebiya – Talkalakh, reported her disappearance inside the “Teacher Training Institute” building in the Dablan neighborhood of Homs. According to her parents, an individual claiming to be an administrative official at the institute contacted Mira’s mother, urging her to ensure her daughter’s attendance for an exam to avoid expulsion. Her father escorted her to the institute’s entrance and waited outside, but she never returned.
In the days that followed, conflicting reports emerged regarding her whereabouts and the circumstances of her disappearance.
Several days later, Mira was returned to her family home accompanied by her “alleged husband” and members of the “General Security” apparatus affiliated with the de facto authorities. Wearing a full-face veil (niqab) commonly associated with ultra-conservative ideological groups, she stated that she had married “of her own free will” and publicly expressed her desire to convert to Islam—despite belonging to the Alawite sect, a recognized Islamic community.
Her statements raised serious concerns about potential coercion or psychological pressure, especially after visible marks on her hand—initially interpreted as bruises—were later described as “tattoos.” These developments prompted further questions about the nature of her detention, indoctrination environment, and the authenticity of her consent, particularly as she appeared in several video recordings with noticeable inconsistencies in demeanor and expression.
Mira’s father, who had initially accused the institute’s administration of complicity in her disappearance, was later detained by the same “security apparatus.” He subsequently reappeared in a video denying any abduction, a reversal many activists and human rights organizations believe was the result of security pressure to retract his earlier claims.
This case underscores the urgent need for an independent and impartial investigation, especially amid a documented pattern of abuses that include abduction, forced marriage, unlawful detention, religious and ideological coercion, and sexual enslavement. Evidence gathered in recent years has implicated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its General Security division—as well as aligned extremist factions operating under the so-called “Ministry of Defense”—in such violations, particularly within regions under their ideological and administrative control.
The de facto authorities currently exercising power in parts of Syria bear legal responsibility under international humanitarian law and human rights law for violations occurring in territories under their control
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