Syria's Ex-First Lady’s New Life in Exile

Dec 15, 2024 | In early December 2024, the regime of Bashar al-Assad, who ruled Syria for 24 years, finally fell. His entire family had to flee the country and seek refuge abroad. But their escape is not the only drama. Bashar’s wife, born in the UK, is gravely ill. She is battling leukemia, and her condition is worsening. For years, she wasn’t just the president’s wife. She played an important role in the state and its image. But what happens to the wife of Syria’s infamous dictator now? What does life in exile look like for her? And how is she coping with her illness? In this video, we’ll uncover the answers to all these questions.

Asma al-Assad Given 50/50 Chance of Survival as Leukaemia Returns

THE TELEGRAPH: British-born wife of ousted Syrian dictator, Bashar, is being kept in isolation as condition worsens

Asma al-Assad has been given a 50/50 chance of survival after her leukaemia returned, The Telegraph understands | Miguel Medina/AFP
Asma al-Assad is severely ill with leukaemia and has been isolated by doctors who have given her a “50/50” chance of survival, The Telegraph understands.

The British wife of the ousted Syrian dictator, Bashar al-Assad, is being kept away from others to prevent infection and cannot be in the same room as anyone else.

Her father, Fawaz Akhras, has been caring for his daughter in Moscow and was described as “heartbroken” by sources in direct contact with her family.

Assad and his wife sought asylum in Moscow after his brutal regime lost its grip on power after 13 years of ruinous civil war.

Syria’s presidency announced in May this year that the then-first lady had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, an aggressive cancer of the bone marrow and the blood. » | Ben Farmer | Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Kremlin Denies Reports Asma al-Assad Is Seeking Divorce and a Return to London

THE GUARDIAN: UK-born wife of ousted Syrian leader is a divisive figure around world and, like her husband, is under sanctions

The Kremlin has denied Turkish media reports suggesting that Asma al-Assad, the British-born wife of the ousted Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, is seeking a divorce and hoping to return to London.

Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow earlier this month, the transponder of his aircraft switched off as he left to avoid detection, after a lightning rebel advance brought an end to his family’s 50-year rule.

In a statement attributed to Bashar al-Assad on Telegram, he later insisted his departure from Syria had not been planned but that he had been forced to leave after his position at a Russian-controlled airbase came “under intensified attack by drone strikes”.

His family has long had ties to Moscow, with relatives buying up tens of millions of dollars’ worth of properties in Russia over the years. » | Ashifa Kassam and agencies | Monday, December 23, 2024

Verwandtes Video hier.

Assads Ehefrau Asma will sich scheiden lassen | krone.tv NEWS

Dec 23, 2024 | Nicht nur die Herrschaft des einstigen Diktators Baschar al-Assad in Syrien ist zu Ende, sondern offenbar auch seine Ehe: Gattin Asma, die 24 Jahre an der Seite des „Schlächters von Damaskus“ stand, will sich laut Medienberichten von ihm trennen und nach England ausreisen.

ITN Archive: When Britain Welcomed Bashar al-Assad - Tony Blair Courts Syrian President Ahead of Iraq War (2002)

Dec 9, 2024 | Between 15 and 18 December 2002, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and his wife, Syrian first lady Asma al-Assad, visited London. British Prime Minister Tony Blair had decided to publically engage the Assad regime in the hope of firming up Syrian support for Britain's stance on issues including the Middle East peace process, international terrorism, and action against Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Assad's visit included receptions with Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and Queen Elizabeth II. This compilation features raw footage as well as broadcast reports on the broader political context of the visit.

What now for Asma al-Assad – the former British private schoolgirl turned international pariah: The former first lady was once seen as a symbol of female empowerment – Syria’s equivalent of Princess Diana. Now she’s in exile in Russia »

They ‘didn’t look the type’: how the media was fooled by Bashar and Asma al-Assad: Some journalists underestimated the threat of the brutal president, while his first lady was glamorised in a Vogue feature »

Gushing Vogue profile of ousted Syrian president Bashar Al Assad's wife Asma resurfaces after being wiped from their website »

LE FIGARO :

Asma el-Assad : le double visage glaçant d’une épouse de dictateur : PORTRAIT - L’épouse du dictateur syrien renversé ce dimanche par la coalition rebelle aurait trouvé refuge à Moscou avec sa famille. Longtemps visage glamour et moderne de la Syrie, elle est devenue, au fil des années, le symbole d’un régime répressif. »

Syrie: l'épouse du président Bachar al-Assad atteinte de leucémie : Selon un communiqué de la présidence, Asma, l’épouse du chef de l’État syrien Bachar al-Assad, qui s’était rétablie d’un cancer du sein, a été diagnostiquée d’une leucémie. Elle va subir un traitement. »

BILD:

Frau Assad war früher bei der Deutschen Bank: Asma al-Assad sollte den Fortschritt im Land verkörpern – und zeigte im Krieg gegen das eigene Volk ihr wahres Gesicht »

Asma al-Assad – The Beautiful Face of the Syrian Dictatorship | DW Documentary

Asma al-Assad, the First Lady of Syria and wife of president Bashar al-Assad, was initially a beacon of hope. Today, she is regarded as the dictator’s accomplice.

She grew up in London, went to elite schools and had a promising career. The former ambassador of the European Union to Syria, Frank Hesske, still gets a sparkle in his eyes when he talks about Asma al-Assad. She was ‘a darling’, and comparable to Princess Diana - and not just because of her British roots: ‘We diplomats,’ the former ambassador now reveals with surprising honesty, ‘let ourselves be seduced’. Many of the diplomats, politicians and journalists from the West who met the presidential couple during the 11 years after Assad took power and before the civil war broke out shared that fate: they let themselves be duped. Torture, arrests and threats were unleashed on all those who got in the way of the regime - just as under Assad’s father. There’s the famous opposition activist Riad Seif, whose daughter talks about the regime’s humiliations and the constant fear that her family could be taken by the secret police and her father killed. While the country remains as dark as ever, this film looks at Asma al-Assad’s international role as the face of the dictatorship, the woman from London who for a long time managed to make the Assads socially acceptable.

Asma al-Assad- die First Lady Syriens

Asma al-Assad - Das schöne Gesicht der Diktatur. Asma al-Assad, die First Lady Syriens. Der Westen sah in ihr das Ideal einer arabischen Herrscherin: schön, gebildet, modern. Heute gilt sie als Komplizin eines Diktators, der Verbrechen an seinem Volk begeht. Quelle : ARD

Asma Al Assad: Things You Need to Know Bashar’s Wife

Asma Al-Assad is the wife of President Bashar al-Assad, who has been in power since July 2000. For a time, Asma was seen in a positive light to push social and economic development. She was even once featured in a flattering Vogue article.

Asma al-Assad: A Rose in the Desert »

Mrs. Asma al-Assad Interview with Russia's Channel 24

Mrs. Assad's public interview for the past 8 years. Source: Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic

Who Is Asma al-Assad? – Video Explainer

Asma al-Assad gave a rare television interview on 18 October, saying she had refused offers of asylum for her and her children. The Syrian first lady, who grew up in west London and moved to the Middle East shortly before marrying Bashar al-Assad in December 2000, sounded defiant in her interview, condemning western sanctions and media coverage of the war in Syria.

John Kerry and Bashar al-Assad Dined in Damascus

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Photographs showing John Kerry, the US secretary of state, dining in splendour with President Bashar al-Assad have emerged, as Mr Kerry likened the Syrian ruler to Hitler.

Mr Kerry visited Damascus in February 2009, when he was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

He said in a press conference during the visit: "President Barack Obama's administration considers Syria a key player in Washington's efforts to revive the stalled Middle East peace process.

"Syria is an essential player in bringing peace and stability to the region."

Mr Kerry met with Mr Assad at least six times, and on one occasion – seen in the photographs – dining with the two men's wives at the Naranj restaurant in central Damascus.

The restaurant, in the heart of Damascus's Old Town, is on a marble paved avenue named Straight Street, which was built by the Romans and mentioned in the Bible. » | Harriet Alexander | Tuesday, September 03, 2013

Syria's First Lady Draws Marie Antoinette Comparisons

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Read the article here
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Syria conflict: Asma al-Assad is having her 'Marie Antoinette moment': What are we to make of Asma al-Assad, the first lady of Syria, who grew up in London and was educated at our schools, asks Cathy Newman. » | Cathy Newman, Presenter, Channel 4 News | Thursday, August 29, 2013

Syria’s first lady »

Syrien: Asma al-Assad soll schwanger sein

SPIEGEL ONLINE: In Syrien tobt der Krieg - und Herrscher Baschar al-Assad freut sich angeblich über Familienzuwachs. Seine Frau Asma, die sich seit Monaten nicht mehr öffentlich gezeigt hat, erwartet laut einer libanesischen Zeitung ein Kind. Dies habe der mutmaßlich werdende Vater Besuchern verkündet.

Damaskus - Asma al-Assad, die Frau des syrischen Diktators Baschar al-Assad, soll schwanger sein. Dies berichtet die libanesische Zeitung "al-Akhbar". Sie berief sich dabei auf namentlich nicht genannte "Besucher", denen gegenüber Assad das kürzlich verkündet haben soll.

Das Ehepaar Assad hat bereits drei Kinder. Ob sie sich noch in Damaskus aufhalten, ist unklar. Mutter und Schwester des Diktators sollen sich inzwischen nach Dubai abgesetzt haben. Beide galten als enge Vertraute und wichtige Beraterinnen im inneren Kreis um Assad.

Was die politische Situation in Syrien angeht, habe sich Baschar al-Assad während des Treffens siegesgewiss gegeben, berichteten die Quellen weiter. Seit zwei Jahren kommt es in dem Land zu Protesten gegen Baschar al-Assad. Inzwischen hat er über weite Teile des Landes die Kontrolle verloren, es herrscht Bürgerkrieg. Möglicherweise wurden die Gerüchte um die Schwangerschaft auch gestreut, um die Abwesenheit Asma al-Assads in der Öffentlichkeit zu erklären und die Zuversicht des Diktators zu unterstreichen. » | ras | Dienstag, 29. Januar 2013

Bürgerkrieg in Syrien: Wo sind die Assads?

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Kämpfe in der Hauptstadt, mehrere Regimegrößen getötet: Das syrische Regime wankt. Baschar al-Assad hat sich noch nicht zu Wort gemeldet. Ist er wirklich in die Küstenstadt Latakia [E] geflohen - und seine Frau nach Russland?

Das syrische Regime gerät immer stärker in die Defensive. Die Aufständischen haben den finalen Kampf um die Macht ausgerufen. In mehreren Stadtteilen von Damaskus toben Gefechte. Am Mittwoch hat Diktator Baschar al-Assad bei einem schweren Bombenanschlag vier seiner engsten Vertrauten verloren. Möglicherweise wurden noch weitere Regimegrößen schwer verletzt oder gar getötet. Hartnäckig hält sich das Gerücht, auch Assads Bruder Mahir, die wichtigste Person des Regimes neben dem Präsidenten, sei bei dem Treffen dabei gewesen und habe Verletzungen erlitten.

War Baschar al-Assad selbst auch dort? Dies gilt als unwahrscheinlich. Der Präsident, der sich vor dem Krieg oft mitten in der Stadt mit seiner Familie zeigte, hat es seit Beginn der Aufstände zunehmend vermieden, den Schutz seiner Paläste und Kasernen zu verlassen. Aus Sicherheitsgründen wurde bereits sein angekündigter Auftritt bei der Einschwörung des neuen syrischen Parlaments im Mai 2012 kurzfristig abgesagt. Offenbar glaubte man, trotz erhöhter Sicherheitsmaßnahmen, einschließlich der kompletten Absperrung der Damaszener Innenstadt rund um das Parlament, die Sicherheit des Präsidenten nicht mehr garantieren zu können. Assad hat Damaskus offenbar verlassen » | Von Raniah Salloum | Donnerstag, 19. Juli 2012

As Syria Burns, Assad's British-born Wife Goes On £270,000 Online Shopping Spree and Imports Chandeliers, Rugs, Sofas, Tables and Eleven Ottomans from London

THE MAIL ON SUNDAY: Asma al-Assad, 36, placed the order with exclusive London store DN Designs in the King's Road, Chelsea, West London / Among the 130 items were 11 ottomans costing over £20,000, a dining room table priced at almost £10,000 and a rug worth just under £11,000

She has been dubbed the Princess Diana of the Middle East, combining beauty and style with tireless charity work.

In a region blighted by dictatorships and conflicts, the First Lady of Syria, Asma al-Assad, was billed as the modern and caring face of the Arab world.

But emails obtained by WikiLeaks show Mrs Assad, 36, spent £270,000 buying furniture from an exclusive London store for one of her presidential palaces last March – as Syria was descending into a bloody civil war.

British-born Mrs Assad sent her order – which included five chandeliers costing £8,800 – to upmarket furniture store DN Designs in the King’s Road, Chelsea, West London.

The emails, seen exclusively by The Mail on Sunday, emerged as more than 200 people were believed to have been massacred by government forces in the village of Tremseh last Thursday. » | Abul Taheer | Sunday, July 15, 2012