Law and Democracy Support Foundation condemns the orchestrated campaign of defamation and threats launched by groups inside Syria, including supporters of the current regime, against Syrian journalist Alaa Amer, who has lived in exile in Turkey since 2013 and also holds Turkish citizenship. This campaign was triggered by her public positions and condemnation of sectarian massacres committed in the coastal region and in Sweida, which claimed the lives of hundreds of victims from both the Alawite and Druze communities.
LDSF has documented a recurring pattern of organized online attacks against journalist Alaa Amer, following a direct examination of dozens of accounts involved in the campaign. It was found that the majority of these accounts belong to individuals residing inside Syria who openly declared their support for the Syrian regime, with many boasting about massacres committed against civilians from both the Alawite and Druze communities. Methods of attack included defamation, incitement to violence, and the circulation of fabricated conversations using Alaa Amer’s name and photo on social media platforms. The Foundation also documented direct hate speech and threats via Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram groups, which explicitly called for her killing and rape.
The targeting of journalist Alaa Amer cannot be dismissed as an isolated incident or a passing dispute; rather, it falls within the broader framework of transnational repression, whereby authoritarian regimes pursue their opponents beyond their borders through direct assaults or coordinated smear and intimidation campaigns. The targeting of Alaa Amer for her political stance against the Syrian regime underscores that what she is facing is not merely a personal attack, but part of a systematic policy aimed at silencing Syrian journalists and women activists both inside Syria and in exile.
It is worth noting that the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the recent sectarian events in Syria stated in its report of 14 August 2025 that the wave of violence which swept through the coastal and west-central regions of Syria since January included acts that may amount to war crimes, such as killings, torture, mutilation of corpses, widespread looting, and the burning of homes, which resulted in the displacement of tens of thousands of civilians. The Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression documented 1,386 deaths in Sweida alone, including 1,116 civilians (81%).
LDSF stresses that the Syrian authorities must address these sectarian events, hold those responsible accountable, and ensure their non-recurrence, while at the same time preventing their affiliates from targeting and intimidating journalists and voices denouncing the atrocities that have taken place in the country.
While the Foundation holds the Syrian authorities responsible for the safety of journalist Alaa Amer, it also demands the prosecution and accountability of those responsible for the defamation and threat campaign she faced in recent days, as well as urgent action to confront the rising violence and extremism in the country after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
In a related context, the Foundation calls on Turkey, a member of the Human Rights Council, not to tolerate transnational repression on its soil and to ensure the protection of journalist Alaa Amer and her family after the threats of killing and targeting directed at her on social media platforms.
