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M. Pérez
Jueves, 26 de diciembre 2024, 12:41
The life of the Al Assads in their Moscow exile seems to be far from the golden picture many of their opponents predicted, given the wealth the deposed Syrian dictator holds in Moscow. Asma, his wife, is reportedly suffering from leukemia, isolated to avoid any risk of infection, with a 50% chance of survival after her condition worsened over the past seven months, according to 'The Daily Telegraph', citing Turkish media informed by Russian officials.
According to these same sources, Asma has requested a divorce from her husband, Bashar, and intends to return to the UK, aware of her precarious options. Although she retains her British passport (born 49 years ago in London), she has been considered 'persona non grata' on the islands since last December, when an uprising by opponents ended the Syrian regime, dashing many of her hopes of seeking refuge in her native country. Moreover, several MPs have opposed her possible return while the British police have kept an investigation open for three years into her potential involvement in the lethal repression in Syria, theoretically making her liable to arrest should she set foot in the UK.
Bashar Al Assad fled hastily to Moscow in early December to escape the rebels. The Kremlin convinced him that fleeing was the best option given his stubborn resistance. Weeks earlier, the leader had sent his wife and three children to the Russian capital. It was the only possible way out, and it is very likely that the family thought they could lead a comfortable and luxurious life there, despite Bashar knowing it came at a cost: asylum would not be free, nor would the Kremlin allow him to leave the country.
Indeed, life in Russia does not seem to be the bed of roses one might expect for a clan that, since 2013, has shown a fanatical drive for enrichment in Moscow. They acquired up to twenty luxury apartments and houses in the capital through a network of intermediaries. A maternal cousin of Bashar, who participated in the country's brutal prison subculture as a Syrian intelligence officer, also established himself in 2022 at the head of a large real estate company in Russia, according to a 'Financial Times' investigation.
The Assads now face severe movement restrictions, even to travel outside the Russian capital, and much of their fortune is blocked by the authorities of that country. They are also unlikely to be welcomed guests of President Vladimir Putin, and any possible future abroad seems unfeasible, given the war crimes charges against the former president. The abrupt change in lifestyle, her husband's legal situation, and the severity of her illness have reportedly prompted the former "first lady of the Arab world" to seek a divorce.
She is the daughter of a famous London cardiologist and a Syrian diplomat. Her father is the one taking care of her in her new retreat and has already asked a Russian court for permission to receive specialized treatment in the UK. Asma suffered from breast cancer in 2018, and last May, she experienced a recurrence of an extremely aggressive leukemia, which she has been treated for in Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
Frustration, disillusionment, weariness... or simple convenience could weigh on her alleged intention to divorce and move with her three children to the UK. Israeli and Turkish media claim she wants to regain part of her former life, rejoin a major financial firm, and get the courts to unfreeze some of her assets in the UK. With Bashar by her side, all this is impossible, not only due to the difficulties of securing a job contract but also because the former president would be immediately arrested upon arriving in London or any other European or American capital. The accusations against him as a criminal are undeniable. His government is responsible for over half a million people killed and disappeared, and his methods of execution and torture have been equated with those of Stalin.
Asma studied at King's College London, graduated in French literature and computer science, and worked at major companies like Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan. At 25, she married Bashar, an ophthalmologist who worked at a prestigious London hospital until he was compelled to take over the Syrian government in 2000 following the death of his father and the brother who was destined to be his successor.
The early years were marked by an illusion of modernity. A fashion magazine dubbed Asma the "desert rose" only to later erase this designation from all its references. 'The Sun' called her the "sexy Brit who saved the Syrians from the cold," and the presidential couple made several international tours as a symbol of openness. Queen Elizabeth received them at Buckingham Palace in 2002, and they also visited La Zarzuela in 2004. Asma was compared to Queen Rania of Jordan, graced magazine covers, and the couple's attendance at Pope John Paul II's funeral garnered worldwide attention. 'The New York Times' portrayed them as the "essence of Arab-Western fusion" in 2005.
The image was meticulously crafted in the government offices in Damascus. Between 2000 and 2010, the president's wife appeared in thousands of photos teaching Syrian children, at charity events, visiting villages, or engaging in deep discussions with European diplomats and intellectuals. The typical actions that led dozens of celebrities to travel to Damascus to be photographed with her. The wheel of success. "She was a modern woman" who would campaign for women's empowerment as well as address local poverty. But she also "had two personalities," according to a Syrian journalist she helped create an English-language newspaper that she herself shut down just before its first issue was released. "She coveted the good life" and its privileges.
Everything changed under the overwhelming weight of thousands of deaths. Summary hangings and brutal beatings emerged from the dark backrooms of the prisons. Syrian repression became a grim reality, and many wondered why that Western lady, who had even been compared to Princess Diana, did nothing to stop it. In 2012, the European Union included her in its list of international sanctions. It froze Asma's assets and banned her from entering EU countries. In 2020, she was condemned to international isolation by the United States.
However, that did not prevent her from amassing a considerable personal fortune. Opponents of the regime have shown emails where she purchased luxury items in London, Paris, Rome, and New York through intermediaries and anonymous couriers. She also became a regular in interviews with exclusively Russian media. The romance with the West and glamour had vanished.
Meanwhile, her husband was bolstering his wealth in Moscow, perhaps fearing a future forced retirement. It is believed that his fortune in cash and gold exceeds $2 billion, transferred with financial engineering and great impunity. In just two years, the Central Bank, under Bashar's control, moved about $250 million from Syria to the Russian capital, apparently to pay for Putin's support of his regime and to create a good personal financial "cushion," according to 'Financial Times'. There were no masks in the autocracy. The money traveled by plane, in cash, in bundles of dollars and euros weighing two tons, and once at Moscow airport, it was deposited in different banks. Cash, always cash.
Today, according to international media, not even all those bills keep Putin and Al Assad united. It seems the Syrian president has become an unwelcome guest for the Kremlin, which not only invades Ukraine in a bloody war but also harbors one of the fiercest tyrants of recent history. Politically, it is an inopportune moment. Just as Putin aims to present an image inclined to end the Ukrainian conflict (in exchange for keeping the occupied territories), he brings the beast into his home. The Russian leader also does not forgive his counterpart for ignoring advice to undertake reforms to appease the opposition's anger and thus avoid his overthrow. The Al Assads' golden cage is increasingly more cage and less gold.
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