Weeks after the collapse of the oppressive government of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, news is appearing that his UK-born missis Asma al-Assad has filed for a divorce and is preparing to move to Britain. The Syrian former president escaped the country and landed in Russia after rebel parties in the nation swiftly seized the Syrian capital of Damascus. Russia, a longtime supporter of the Assad regime, eventually provided him and his wife asylum on a humanitarian basis.
Who is Asma al-Assad?
Asma Fawaz al-Assad was born to Syrian parents in London, UK. She also grew up there and has dual UK and Syrian citizenship. Asma al-Assad wedded then-President of Syria Bashar al-Assad in December 2000. The former Syrian first lady graduated in computer science and French literature degree from King’s College London in 1996.
She was a professional in investment banking and intended to start an MBA at Harvard University when she wedded Bashar al-Assad in December 2000. She left her career in investment banking following the marriage and stayed in Syria, where their three kids were born. Asma Fawaz al-Assad as a First Lady, played a significant role in backing government organisations engaged with social and economic growth as part of a reform endeavour suspended due to the eruption of the Syrian civil war.
What Are the Rumors of Divorce Between Her and Bashar al-Assad?
The 49-year-old Asma al-Assad, once the model of elegance and a critical figure in Bashar al-Assad’s government, is now reportedly seeking permission from Russian authorities to leave Russia and go back to her hometown in London. Once known by European media as the “Rose of the Desert, Asma al-Assad
According to unconfirmed reports, Asma al-Assad, who has been confirmed to have leukaemia, filed two petitions to a Russian tribunal. One plea is for divorce, while the other requests authorisation to exit Russia. Her petition was being examined by Russian authorities.
Sources revealed that she is keen to return to the UK for proper medical treatment. Her mother, Sahar al-Akhras, an ex-Syrian delegate and UK citizen, is said to have engaged major UK law companies to enable her daughter’s return. Asma reportedly argues that she is not acquiring adequate medical care in Moscow, where the family has been temporarily living. The possible divorce adds another coating of complexity to the challenges confronting Bashar al-Assad, who has already failed to power after decades of authoritarian government.
Role of Asma al-Assad in Supporting the Assad Regime
Asma al-Assad together with her husband Bashar al-Assad was said to be one of the biggest economic players in Syria, owning large parts of Syrian business domains, telecommunications, banking, real estate, and maritime enterprises. As a consequence of the continuing Syrian civil war, a dispute which started in March 2011, Asma al-Assad was subject to economic restrictive measures relating to high-level Syrian administration officials, making it unlawful in the European Union to deliver her with material and financial aid, for her to get certain products, and trimming her ability to travel within the EU.
In the Birtan, she was part of a preliminary investigation within the War Crimes division of the Metropolitan Police with allegations concerning the “systematic process to the torture and killing of civilians, including with the usage of chemical weapons” and instigation of terrorist actions.
Asma Fawaz al-Assad was criticised for remaining quiet at the start of the Syrian revolt. She gave her first official remark to the international media in February 2012, about a year after the first serious demonstrations. That February, she transmitted an email to The Times, noting: “The President is the President of Syria, not a faction of Syrians, and the First Lady backs him in that position.”
She remained capable of travelling to Britain because of her UK citizenship. She had not been noticed by people regularly since the incident of the Syrian Military Intelligence Directorate, ushering to press assumption that she had escaped Damascus or the nation.
By 2020, experts reported that Asma Fawaz al-Assad had started to develop her influence within the Syrian administration. She started to move her close ones into more influential appointments, including the development domain during the 2020 Syrian parliamentary vote.
As an outcome, she accumulated a political influence in the parliament, implying at the time that she was “likely to persist to play a critical part in the Syrian political theatre.”
