Asma al-Assad (L) , the deposed Syrian president’s British-born wife, was facing for years calls to be stripped of her UK citizenship after she was accused of propping up his propaganda operation. British FM said she is ‘no longer welcome’ in the UK after reports indicated she filed for divorce and wants to return to the UK
Reports that Bashar al-Assad’s British-born wife was attempting to get a divorce and move back to Britain have been denied by the Kremlin. Russia also refuted reports that Russian authorities had frozen the assets of the ousted Syrian leader and his wife, Asma al-Assad, and imprisoned them in Moscow.
The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, responded that they do not correspond to reality when asked if the reports were accurate, as quoted in a report by The Telegraph.
The former Syrian first lady filed for divorce in Russia, where the Assad family was granted asylum this month after being overthrown by rebel forces after 24 years in power, according to reports in Turkish and Arabic media on Sunday.
Mrs. Assad was raised in Acton, West London, and was born to Syrian parents. She married her spouse and had three children with him after relocating to Syria in 2000.
According to the reports, she expressed dissatisfaction with her new life in Moscow and wanted a divorce. She also stated that she hoped to return to London for cancer treatment.
It was disclosed in May that she had received a leukaemia diagnosis after undergoing treatment for breast cancer in 2018 and 2019.
UK passport
Although Mrs. Assad is still a British citizen, Foreign Secretary David Lammy stated earlier this month that she was no longer welcome in the nation, suggesting that she might soon lose her UK passport.
She had her UK assets frozen in March 2012 amid growing protests against her husband’s rule, as part of an EU sanctions program maintained by British governments since Brexit.
Assad airlifted $250 million in cash to Moscow
Ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad airlifted around $250 million in cash to Moscow, according to a stunning revelation made in a Financial Times report. The transactions were carried out in a two-year period – 2018 and 2019 – and included nearly two tonnes of $100 bills and currency notes of 500 euro, the outlet further said. These bank notes were flown to Moscow’s Vnukovo airport and deposited in sanctioned Russian banks. The report also said that Assad’s relatives were secretly buying assets in Russia during the same period.
Top Syrian diplomat in Moscow blasts ousted Assad
A top Syrian diplomat on Monday blasted the ousted Assad regime, saying it operated like a “corrupt mafia” that exploited the nation for personal gain.
Once a staunch supporter of former leader Bashar Assad, Bashar Jaafari, Syria’s ambassador in Moscow, expressed his disillusionment in comments to the press. “I’m speaking about the Syrian state, not the regime,” he said. “You might be surprised to hear me say that there was never a real regime at any point. If there had been, it would have defended itself.”
Jaafari’s remarks followed the fall of the Assad regime, which crumbled on Dec. 8 after opposition forces entered Damascus.
Ya Libnan/News Agencies/