Over the weekend, Arabic and Turkish outlets reported that Asma al-Assad, wife of deposed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, was seeking a divorce after the couple and their family fled to Moscow two weeks ago. However, other sources are now stating that such claims are without merit. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian government, told reporters at a press conference on Monday that the stories about Asma seeking a divorce “do not correspond to reality,” while also refuting other claims that the Assads were being confined in the Russian capital and that their assets had been frozen (Bashar al-Assad has several properties in Moscow). The Daily Beast reports that Asma’s father, Dr. Fawaz Akhras, told the outlet via email that he is “able to confirm that the reports are false.”
Rebel forces overthrew the Assad regime two weeks ago, marking a decisive shift in the ongoing Syrian civil war, which stemmed from large-scale protests against the regime that broke out in 2011. The popular uprising and Bashar al-Assad’s crackdown against it escalated, with armed opposition groups forming throughout the country, some wholly domestic and others backed by outside forces, including United States. By mid-2012, the conflict had escalated into a brutal civil war, with numerous atrocities committed on both sides in the following years. This would include mass executions and theocratic repression on the part of rebel forces, and al-Assad’s Russia-backed military deploying chemical weapons.
While the conflict lay dormant after a ceasefire agreement was reached in 2020, a rebel coalition led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) went on an 11-day offensive, taking large cities like Aleppo and Homs, until finally reaching the capital of Damascus and toppling the government on December 8th. Rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (who previously went by Abu Mohammed al-Jolani) is considered the new commander-in-chief of Syria’s interim government. Al-Assad and his family fled to Russia, where they were granted political asylum.
Asma al-Assad, 49, was born to Syrian parents in the United Kingdom, where she lived until 2000 and worked as an investment banker. She moved to Syria at the age of 25 and married Bashar al-Assad, who had just succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad, as leader of the country.
