The British wife of deposed Syrian tyrant Bashar al-Assad has filed for divorce, say reports.
Asma al-Assad, 49, is currently exiled in Moscow with the former Damascus dictator but wants to move to London. The former first lady is reportedly dissatisfied with her life under guard of the Putin regime in Russia.
She has applied to a Russian court for permission to leave Russia for Britain, according to The Jerusalem Post, citing Turkish and Arab media reports.
Her application is currently being evaluated by the Russian authorities, according to the accounts. The former ruler 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. He is said to have moved to Moscow around 270 kilograms of gold and £1.6 billion. He or his clan are believed to own dozens of apartments in the Russian capital.
The couple are believed to be under “severe restrictions” in Moscow (
Image:
AFP/Getty Images)
There has been so far no comment on the divorce reports from the Russian authorities or from al-Assad or his wife. Asma was born in London and was raised in London by Syrian parents. The family was offered a safe haven by Vladimir Putin who spirited the toppled president out of Syria 8 December shortly before his country fell into the hands of rebels.
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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. One version is that she would prefer to be treated in the UK.
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 own dozens of properties here and elsewhere in Moscow, but it is believed the family now resides in official Russian government accommodation.
One week before al-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, 49, had celebrated with him in Russia when he was awarded his degree at the same university last year.
