On April 29, 2026, unidentified individuals kidnapped Batoul Suleiman Alloush, a student at Tishreen University, from her university housing.

Soon after her abduction, Alloush appeared in a video stating she had left of her own will and converted to Islam. Analysis by human rights groups determined that the recording had likely been coerced.

Alloush’s abduction occurred against the backdrop of what UN experts and human rights groups have identified as a pattern of targeted abductions, disappearances, and gender-based violence against Alawite women and girls.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the abduction of a higher education student. State authorities should take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of scholars, students, and staff, including by investigating and holding perpetrators of such acts responsible, in line with international human rights standards. In addition to the harm to the immediate victim, kidnappings that target members of the higher education community undermine the conditions needed for the meaningful exercise of the right to education and academic freedom.

Sources:
https://www.syriahr.com/en/382160/
https://www.facebook.com/syriahro/videos/بكلماتٍ-يملؤها-القهر-كشف-والد-الطالبة-الجامعية-بتول_علوش-في-فيديو-صادم-عن-الحالة/1870082913656563/?rdid=zJcn6iwBHUjdGtjA
https://thenewregion.com/posts/5301
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/03/world/middleeast/syria-kidnapping-alawite-woman-girls.html
https://syrianfeministlobby.org/en/2026/05/07/statement-regarding-the-disappearance-of-the-young-woman-batoul-suleiman/
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/07/syria-un-experts-alarmed-targeted-abductions-and-disappearances-alawite