What’s New
The Kremlin has denied reports that Bashar al-Assad’s wife has filed for divorce after being exiled to Moscow alongside her husband.
The initial reports, which came from Turkish and Arab sources, claimed that Asma al-Assad, 49, the wife of the deposed Syrian dictator, has sought a divorce from her husband so that she can return to the United Kingdom, where lived until she moved to Syria in 2000.
Per the Jerusalem Post, 59-year-old Bashar al-Assad’s asylum status in Moscow stipulates that he is not allowed to leave the city, which the Kremlin denies. They have also denied claims that al-Assad’s assets, rumored to be $2 billion and 18 apartments, have been frozen.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has been contacted by Newsweek via email for further comment.
Philip Fong/AFP via Getty Images
Why It Matters
While recent reports have claimed Asma al-Assad is trying to leave her husband and return to London, Asma al-Assad was placed under investigation by London’s Metropolitan Police for involvement in war crimes perpetrated by her husband’s regime in 2021.
When the investigation was opened, her husband’s regime was accused of killing more than 400,000 people, and systematically using torture and chemical weapons against its own people. Asma al-Assad was accused of supporting and encouraging terrorism alongside her husband’s government.
Following the fall of Assad’s rule, mass graves, vast prison systems, and torture sites were uncovered in Syria.
While Asma al-Assad is no longer under investigation in the U.K., a warrant is out for her husband’s arrest in France for his alleged complicity in crimes against humanity and chemical warfare against his own population.
Asma al-Assad may be legally able to return to the U.K., where she grew up, but public sentiment around her marriage and how she has stood by her husband throughout his dictatorship has made her a deeply unpopular figure, with critics calling her an “accomplice,” and a “gangster.”
The Metropolitan Police told Newsweek on Monday: “We can confirm that the Counter Terrorism Policing War Crimes Team received a referral on 13 December 2021 of allegations relating to the ongoing Syrian conflict.
“This latest referral was assessed by officers from the Met’s War Crimes Team in accordance with the Crown Prosecution Service referral guidelines for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“Following that assessment, it was concluded that there were insufficient grounds to launch an investigation at this time and the referrer has been informed of this outcome.”
What To Know
The Assads fled Damascus on December 8 after rebel forces successfully took over the city.
Russian reports showed that they fled to Moscow, with the Russian Foreign Ministry saying that they did not participate in negotiations around the transfer of power in Syria.
Per Newsweek reporting, an anonymous Kremlin source told the news agency Interfax: “President Assad of Syria has arrived in Moscow. Russia has granted them [him and his family] asylum on humanitarian grounds.”
Asma al-Assad was raised in Acton, west London by her Syrian parents and went on to study computer science and French literature at King’s College London, before becoming an investment banker at JPMorgan in London.
She married Bashar al-Assad in 2000 and moved to Syria with her him that same year, when he took over from his late father, Hafez al-Assad.
Chris McGrath/Getty images
What People Are Saying
Former U.S. war crimes ambassador at large Stephen Rapp, told Reuters: “When you talk about this kind of organised killing by the state and its organs, we really haven’t seen anything quite like this since the Nazis.”
President Joe Biden said: “At long last, the Assad regime has fallen. This regime brutalized and tortured and killed literally hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrians.
“A fall of the regime is a fundamental act of justice. It’s a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria to build a better future for their proud country.”
What Happens Next
Bashar al-Assad will likely stay in Moscow for the foreseeable future. It is unclear whether his wife’s divorce claim will be filed by Russian authorities, or whether she will be allowed to seek asylum in the U.K. even if she does successfully divorce her husband.
