The British-born wife of the deposed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad is said to be battling leukaemia, with doctors giving her a ’50/50′ chance of survival.
Asma al-Assad, 49, and her husband are holed up in Moscow after being forced into exile when Islamist rebels toppled the tyrant’s brutal reign.
Recent reports suggest that Asma is seriously ill with cancer and is currently isolated in a Moscow hospital to avoid any risk of infection, as detailed by The Telegraph.
It is now being revealed that the dictator’s wife is actively seeking treatment in London after initiating divorce proceedings against Assad, whom she first encountered in Syria during the early 1990s.
The former first lady, once known as the “Rose of the Desert” for her elegance and charm, is being looked after her father Fawaz Akhras who works as a doctor on London’s renowned Harley Street.
“Asma is dying,” a source close to the family said.
“She can’t be in the same room with anyone [because of her condition].”
Syria’s presidency revealed Alma had been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer known as myeloid leukaemia which attacks the bone marrow and blood.
She had previously been treated for breast cancer before saying she was free of the disease after a year of treatment.
But now, her leukaemia is said to have come back.
A source said: “When leukaemia comes back, it’s vicious. She has been 50/50 in the last few weeks.”
Born in London to Syrian parents, Asma became the First Lady of Syria when she married Bashar al-Assad in December 2000.
Asma was known for her work in promoting health and education initiatives in Syria, but her image was heavily tainted thanks to her tyrant husband’s now-fallen regime amid the Syrian Civil War.
Now, reports suggest that Asma is dissatisfied with her life under the Russian regime, having fled to Moscow after Assad’s fall from power.
While the couple has been living in exile, the former first lady reportedly wishes to return to the UK, even filing for divorce from Bashar.
Their relationship began in the early 1990s when Bashar, then an aspiring eye doctor, moved to London.
Their marriage in 2000 marked the beginning of Asma’s role as the First Lady, just as Bashar inherited the brutal dictatorship after the sudden death of his brother Bassel.
But after their exile in Moscow, Asma is said to have grown increasingly disillusioned with her life in Russia, a situation described by some as a “golden cage.”
She has applied to a Russian court for permission to leave Moscow and return to the UK, despite the significant political and legal hurdles standing in her way.
It remains unclear how much weight these requests hold, given her family’s deeply entrenched ties to the regime she married into.
Her family has denied initial reports of a divorce, with her father, Fawaz Akhras, stating that the claims are false.
But sources suggest that Asma still desires to return to the UK, where she has ties and believes she would receive better medical care for her health condition.
While her family maintains that she is receiving the best treatment possible in Russia, the possibility of her moving back to Britain appears small, given the sanctions placed on her and the Assad family.
British officials have meanwhile repeatedly stated that Asma is no longer welcome in the UK.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy emphasising that she should not be allowed to return.
Calls to revoke her UK passport have gained traction, citing her continued association with her husband’s brutal regime, which has been responsible for widespread atrocities during the Syrian Civil War.
Pro-opposition analysts claim that Asma may be longing for a life outside Moscow, possibly seeking to return to a career in investment banking.
However, with her ties to the Assad regime and her status as a sanctioned individual, her ability to regain a foothold in the West is highly unlikely.
Instead, she may find herself constrained to living out her days under the close watch of the Russian government, a stark contrast to the glamorous life she once enjoyed as Syria’s First Lady.
