 "Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (C) and his wife Asma al-Assad (L) attend the opening ceremony of the 2022 Asian Games at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium in Hangzhou in China's eastern Zhejiang province on September 23, 2023. File Image: AFP")
Weeks after the fall of the draconian regime of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, reports are emerging that his wife has filed for a divorce and is planning to move to the United Kingdom. According to The Jerusalem Post, the wife of the deposed president, Asma Al Assad, expressed dissatisfaction with her life in Moscow.
The Syrian leader fled the country and moved to Russia after rebel groups in the country swiftly took over the Syrian capital of Damascus. Russia, a longtime ally of Assad, eventually handed him and his family asylum based on “humanitarian grounds”. Turkish and Arab media have reported that Asam is currently seeking to move to London.
As per the report, the wife of the Syrian leader applied to a Russian court, seeking special permission to leave Moscow. Her application is reportedly being evaluated by the Russian authorities. It is pertinent to note that Asma has dual citizenship in the UK and Syria. She was born and raised in London by her Syrian parents.
Assad’s family is currently under severe restriction
Asma moved to Syria in 2000 and married Assad in the same year. She was 25 at that time. While the Russian authorities have accepted Assad’s request for asylum, the Syrian leader is still living under severe restrictions. As of now, he is barred from leaving Moscow or engaging in any sort of political activities, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Meanwhile, the Russian authorities also froze his assets and money. The assets he carried to Moscow included 270 kilograms of gold, $2 billion, along with 18 apartments in the Russian capital. Interestingly, Russia did not accept the asylum request of Bashar al-Assad’s brother, Maher al-Assad.
The authorities noted that his asylum request is still under “review”. Assad’s decades-long reign came to an end in early December during an offensive by rebel forces led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
While HTS is designated as a terrorist organisation in the United States, earlier this month, the US has decided to lift the $10 million bounty on HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani’s head. The Baath Party, headed by Assad, reigned supreme for last 61 years before Assad was ousted this month.