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THE British-born wife of deposed Syrian tyrant Bashar al-Assad has filed for divorce, reports claim.
Asma al-Assad, 49, and her husband are holed up in Moscow after being forced into exile when Islamic rebels toppled the dictator.
AFP
The former first lady, once known as “Rose of the Desert” for her elegance and charm, is said to be dissatisfied with her life under the guard of the Putin regime in Russia and wants to return to the UK.
She is also claimed to have filed for divorce from Assad, who she met in the early 1990s while vacationing in Syria.
They began a relationship when the future murderous tyrant moved to London to train as an ophthalmologist.
The pair then got married in 2000, the same year Assad suddenly inherited Syria’s dictatorship after his brother and heir to the regime Bassel died in a car crash.
But Asma has now applied to a Russian court for permission to leave Russia for Britain – and her husband – reports the Jerusalem Post.
Her application is being evaluated by the Russian authorities, it is reported.
Butcher Assad and his family are believed to be under “severe restrictions” in Moscow, and he is barred from leaving the city or engaging in political activities.
His assets and money in Russia are reported to be frozen – but he is claimed to have moved some 270 kilograms of gold and £1.6 billion to Moscow.
Assad or his clan are believed to own dozens of apartments in the Russian capital.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov today rejected claims Asma had filed for divorce.
He said: “No they do not correspond to reality.”
The tyrant and his family were offered a safe haven by Vladimir Putin, who spirited the toppled president out of Syria on December 8 – shortly before his country fell into the hands of rebels.
Asma and the couple’s three children were already in Russia, where reports say she has been undergoing treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia, an aggressive form of blood and bone marrow cancer.
Reports claim she would prefer to be treated in the UK.
Who is Asma al-Assad?
by Sayan Bose, Foreign News Reporter
DEPOSED dictator Bashar al-Assad’s British-born wife was once seen as a symbol of freedom and woman empowerment in the repressive Middle East.
But it did not take long for Asma al-Assad, who was described as a “Rose in the Desert”, to become a hallmark of oppression while serving as the “First Lady of Hell”.
The former first lady of Syria is now in exile in Russia after Islamic rebels toppled her butcher husband’s regime, ousting the dictator and his family.
Born in England in 1975, Asma is the daughter of Fawaz Akhras, 78, a consultant cardiologist, and Sahar, 75, a diplomat at the Syrian embassy.
She grew up in a £1million mansion in West London and graduated with a computer science degree from King’s College.
She met Assad in the 1990s and they wed in 2000.
As the first lady of Syria, Asma – who does not wear a burqa or a veil to cover her face – left a strong impression of an independent woman on the world stage.
She told a friend that she was the “real dictator” in the family, according to The Telegraph.
Asma symbolised Syria’s relatively liberal political climate where women had more rights than in other Islamic nations, and shaped Assad’s image as a moderate leader.
In 2010 Vogue magazine described her as a “desert rose” and a “long-limbed beauty with a trained analytic mind”.
But her liberal fame was short-lived and quickly collapsed as her husband began a brutal saga of torture and bloodshed against the Syrians.
Assad started to wipe out the opposition groups in the city of Homs which sparked the Syrian Civil War which killed 500,000 people while six million were left as refugees.
As a strong support to her husband, Asma is said to have orchestrated policies for his oppressive regime which controlled everything from access to the internet to subsided food rations.
She controlled major economic policies in the country that were marked as repressive.
As her role within Assad’s dictatorship grew, she was unable to maintain her early image of the liberated woman operating at the heart of power in a Muslim country.
Her name soon became synonymous with her husband’s atrocious regime – and she ended up being sanctioned by many countries for her role during Syria’s civil war.
In Moscow, the Assad clan is linked to luxury properties in both the 990ft City of Capitals complex and the nearby 1,226ft Federation Tower.
His extended family owns dozens of properties here and elsewhere in Moscow, but it is believed the family now resides in official Russian government accommodation.
One week before Assad’s loss of power, the couple’s eldest son Hafez Bashar al-Assad, 23, had been in Russia defending his thesis at Moscow State University.
His mother Asma had celebrated with him in Russia when he was awarded his degree at the same university last year.
The Sun reported how Asma’s parents left their North West London suburb home early in December – as rebel forces launched their advance on Damascus.
The dramatic rise and fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad
Assad’s rule over Syria ended in dramatic fashion after rebel forces stormed Damascus in a surprise offensive, forcing the dictator to flee to Russia.
This marked the conclusion of a regime notorious for its brutality, including chemical attacks, mass detentions, and the decimation of Syrian cities.
His life took a dramatic turn in 1994 when his elder brother, Bassel, the family’s chosen heir, died in a car accident.
Bashar was abruptly recalled to Syria and groomed for power.
Initially, hope stirred for reform as Bashar promised modernisation, anti-corruption measures, and political openness.
But the so-called “Damascus Spring” was short-lived.
Within a year, Assad cracked down on dissenters, signalling the beginning of his authoritarian rule.
The Assad regime quickly devolved into a kleptocracy, with Assad and his extended family siphoning wealth while suppressing opposition.
The Syrian Civil War became a geopolitical quagmire.
Assad, backed by Russia and Iran, portrayed himself as a bulwark against terrorism while cynically releasing jihadist prisoners to bolster extremist factions.
This fuelled the rise of groups like ISIS, reshaping global terror.
The end of Assad’s reign came abruptly in December 2024, as rebel forces launched a lightning offensive, exploiting weakened Syrian defences.
Rebels captured Damascus in a lightning campaign, declaring the capital “free” and marking the end of years of brutal authoritarian rule.
With Russia mired in Ukraine and Iran preoccupied with regional conflicts, Assad’s regime was left vulnerable.
Rebels stormed Aleppo, marking a symbolic victory, and Assad fled Damascus.
Assad left aboard a military plane amid rumours of its crash before resurfacing in Moscow, where Vladimir Putin granted him asylum.
It comes as an apparent Russian conspiracy to distribute false news about an al-Assad ‘aircraft accident’ has been exposed.
The Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communication and Information Security claimed on X that Russia “hid their trail” in assisting al-Assad’s escape by circulating fake claims that he died in a crash.
Meanwhile, opposition forces took control of key cities, toppled Assad’s statues, and announced plans for a transitional government.
The fall of Assad deals a blow to allies Russia and Iran, with both withdrawing assets from Syria.
PA:Press Association
Reuters 
AP
English (US)