Raja Salim (رجا)

journalist
Women's Studies & Communication and Cultural Studies @Concordia

[Raja Salim (رجا) @sraja1935]

https://t.co/0REAJzynsf

[Raja Salim (رجا) @sraja1935]

Good morning from today’s episode of making it about myself.

What do I want for my 41st birthday?

1- To see Bashar al-Assad and Abu Mohammad al-Jolani standing in the dock, in striped uniforms, tried for the crimes committed against Syrians from 2000 to 2024.

2- To see Ahmad al-Sharaa standing in the same dock, tried for the crimes committed under the current authorities by Public Security forces, allied fighters, and those acting under their protection, against Alawites, Druze, Bedouins, and every Syrian person whose story we know or still do not know.

3- Then, with a clear conscience, we can also say: yes, remnants of the old regime, armed groups in Suwayda, and religious authorities should also be held accountable for any violations they committed.

4- Maybe then Syrians still living in exile, while their families die one after another without even one last goodbye, can feel that there is at least some justice, some logic, somewhere.

I am Syrian, from a Druze community, though I do not define myself through any religious identity. I left the country for the last time on July 12, 2012.

Decree No. 20 of 2025, which established the National Authority for Transitional Justice, limits its mandate to “revealing the truth about the grave violations caused by the former Al-Assad regime.”
It says nothing about accountability for the violations caused, and still being caused, by the current authorities.

So, as someone harmed by both systems, when I read Decree No. 20, who exactly am I supposed to trust? How am I supposed to ignore the wording of the decree itself? What options are left for me?
To “howl until I feel better,” as supporters of the current government like to say? To howl, then? Me and Sousou?

*Sousou is the heart sitting with me in the photo.

Formal text of Decree No. 20 of 2025:
https://t.co/DdwRMPCxJu

[Raja Salim (رجا) @sraja1935]

Perhaps the priority should be "working on developing" relations with Syrians inside the country, rather than attacking and killing them through the state apparatus and affiliated sectarian fellow Syrians. From Al-Suwayda to the coast, and yes, I belong to this category of Syrians; We know that an engagement in Washington is not the proof of legitimacy. A nation's voice cannot be elevated abroad while its own people are being systematically silenced and killed at home.

[rose Is @rose91el]

الصحفية روزا ياسين حسن
تتحدث عن حالة قاسية جدااا من الحالات التي وثقتها هي وفريقها، عن المختطفات العلويات في الساحل السوري
#الساحل_السوري

[Wejdan Nassif @wajdnass]

بانتظار المحاسبة
وحدها كفيلة بمنع التكرار . ليت التقرير والمحاسبة كانت قبل قرار اقتحام السويداء .. ربما وجدتم من يفتح لكم أبواب بيوتهم .. بناء الثقة .. بناء الدولة . بناء جيش وطني حقيقي كان أولوية .. لكن للاسف .. للاسف اكتشفنا ان من يدير المرحلة الانتقالية عقل حربجي فقط .

[Lindsey Snell @LindseySnell]

I think the Syrian government is encouraging the amplification of the Batoul Aloush case, much like they did in the case of Mira Thabet last year.

The flood of attention gives the government the chance to control the narrative. Government affiliated-media counters the claims of the families. These women were escaping their abusive Alawite families! They weren't kidnapped or forced, and here they are to confirm this on camera!

There have been dozens of cases of Alawite women and girls abducted since the fall of Assad, and the two cases getting the most attention are those where the women are conveniently available to appear and deny that they've been coerced...whether or not that's the case.

The government has plausible deniability in these two high profile cases, thus the dozens of other cases become easy to dismiss. And anyone questioning their narrative is smeared as "pro-Assad."

It's really insidious. Straight from the hasbara playbook.

[Shahed @RealShahed04]

In the new Syria, under the rule of terror, the only thing standing between any woman and being kidnapped or taken as a captive is pure luck.
If your humanity doesn’t drive you to raise your voice, then let your fear do.

Batoul Suleiman Aloush, born in 2005, is an Alawite student at the Technical Medical Institute of Tishreen University in Latakia, Syria, She disappeared in late April 2026 (around April 29) after leaving her university accommodation in Latakia. Her family lost contact with her for several hours, after which they issued public appeals via video messages, stating that she had been kidnapped.
Days later, Batoul appeared in a recorded video wearing Islamic dress and hijab. In the video, she stated that she had left home of her own free will, describing her departure as “migration for the sake of God.” She firmly denied any kidnapping and explained that she had faced personal pressures that prompted her decision.
Her family, including her father Suleiman Aloush and her mother, rejected this account. They insisted that Batoul was speaking under duress or coercion, emphasizing that she had always enjoyed religious freedom within the family home without any issues. Her mother released videos highlighting threats and pressure the family had received, maintaining that their daughter was being held against her will and describing her as a “captive.” The family pointed out that the video appeared to have been filmed in Jableh in the presence of other individuals and continued to demand her return.
The authorities became involved, and the father was allowed to meet his daughter under the supervision of security forces in Jableh. Following the meeting, he released a video stating that she was not kidnapped, was in good health, and affirming the principle of freedom of belief. However, the family later maintained that these statements were made under pressure and they are continuing to demand their daughter’s return while appealing to all concerned parties.
#savebatoul #syria #women #WomenSecurity

@hrw
@Amnesty
@amnestyusa
@UN_Women
@UN_SPExperts
@UNCoISyria
@FemenaNet
@WILPF

[Sally Obeid @SallyObeid]

Salafi Sheikh Abdul Razzaq al-Mahdi issues a fatwa against returning student Batoul Alloush to her family.

He wrote:
Question sent to me by brothers from the Syrian coast may God honor them regarding the convert sister Batoul Alloush. The question says:

What is the ruling on returning a girl who recently converted to Islam back to her family, knowing that she would be subjected to torture, abuse, and attempts to force her away from her religion, like Batoul Alloush? She converted to Islam and lived with her father and mother, but they persecuted her and prevented her from praying, fasting, and wearing the hijab. Her father is known as a major sheikh among the people of Banyas and the coast, and many people at checkpoints have been killed, tortured, and imprisoned by them.

Answer:
It is not permissible to return her to her family, because she has converted to Islam and left her family home after the persecution they inflicted on her, as mentioned. I have watched a video of her father claiming that he does not force her into anything. If he were truthful, the girl would not have left her father’s home in the first place. Therefore, those responsible there must place her in a safe location and provide her with protection and support, for that is a legitimate religious duty…

[Raja Salim (رجا) @sraja1935]

The Damascus authority, with all its members, bears responsibility for the sectarian abductions that primarily target Alawite women. Dozens of cases have been documented, yet the transitional authority has not put an end to any violation since coming to power. On the contrary, these violations and assaults are taking place under its watch, and by its own hand.

Today it is Batoul Suleiman Alloush. Before her, there were dozens of Alawite women. After her, the number will keep rising if an end is not put to the farce unfolding in Syria in general, embodied by authority of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham.

#BatoulSuleimanAlloush
#AlawiteWomen

[Kevork Almassian @KevorkAlmassian]

This is Batoul Alloush, a Syrian Alawite woman who lived with her parents in safety and dignity.

Under Jolani’s rule, Batoul was kidnapped from her dormitory at Latakia University.

A video then surfaced of her claiming she “migrated for the sake of Allah” and left her family. But Batoul’s family has appeared on video saying their daughter was kidnapped and is being held against her will.

Batoul is kidnapped.
Many Syrian women are kidnapped in Jolani's Takfiristan.

[Raja Salim (رجا) @sraja1935]

The minister blocked me, along with plenty of others. At least we know she read what we had to say 👏🏽👏🏽

[Raja Salim (رجا) @sraja1935]

The most accurate depiction of the Syrian regime 2025.

[خط 30 @khatt_30]

ليس هذا ما نريد..

[Raja Salim (رجا) @sraja1935]

Al-Jolani, General Security, and the government are all responsible for what happened in Sweida, whether to the Druze or the Bedouins.
We will demand accountability. You and Assad are two sides of the same bloody coin.
#SweidaMassacre

[Raja Salim (رجا) @sraja1935]

Shame on the #Syrianـterroristـregime. A #government of terror، and anyone who supports it is complicit, criminal, and utterly without conscience.
#SweidaMassacre

[Raja Salim (رجا) @sraja1935]

@HindKabawat Hind, please stop pretending otherwise. You're part of a criminal regime. Even if your intentions are good, any aid funneled through you—as a representative of this government, is not help. It’s humiliation.

[Women Now النساء الآن @WomenNowForDev]

نطالب بتحقيق العدالة في قضية قتل روعة، ومواجهة محاولات الزوج بالتعتيم على الخبر، وندعو لعائلة روعة بالصبر والسلوان.

الصورة من صفحة: حق روعة مأمون بدران

#احكوا_قصة_روعة #اسمها_جريمة #اسمه_قاتل

[Women Now النساء الآن @WomenNowForDev]

مشاركة من الصحفية رجا سليم @sraja1935 في حملة "اسمها جريمة.. اسمه قاتل" للمطالبة بحق روعة مأمون بدران والقصاص لقاتلها.

#احكوا_قصة_روعة
#اسمها_جريمة #اسمه_قاتل

[الجمهورية.نت @aljumhuriya_net]

عن صنعة التصوير، وعن دوما وباريس، وعن نضوج التجربة، وعن تصوير الموت وتصوير مباريات كرة القدم، حاورت رجا سليم المصوّر الفوتوغرافي السوري محمد بدرا عن تجربته التصويرية ومحطاته الحياتية المتتالية.

https://t.co/D3lvBvnJDA

[Raja Salim (رجا) @sraja1935]

الصُم ليلة الزلزال.

[Zeina Shahla | زينة شهلا @zeina_shahla]

ضمن هذه المادة ألتقي مع أشخاص صم في #دمشق ليحكوا عن تجربتهم ليلة "الكارثة".
يخبرني لؤي يوسف: "حياة الصم صعبة خاصة حين الكوارث، فلو وقع البيت على شخص أصم، ستكون لديه صعوبة كبيرة في الصراخ أو تحديد مكانه، وكذلك في سماع نداءات فرق الإنقاذ".
#زلزال_تركيا_سوريا
https://t.co/E1C4vCXwnH

[Raja Salim (رجا) @sraja1935]

@STMAbdurrahman ما تتعذبوا بإصدار البيانات ماحدا عتبان عليكن أو متوقع منكن شي