The overthrow of Bashar al-Assad on Sunday marked the end not only of his 24-year presidency, but of his family’s more than 50 years of power in Syria.
Now, with rebels led by the Islamic militant group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) forming a transitional government, the future of the ousted president, his wife and their three children is uncertain.
Why did Assad flee to Russia?
Russia has been a staunch ally of Assad during syria’s civil war and has two key military bases in the Middle Eastern country.
In 2015, Russia launched a military air campaign to support Assad that tipped the scales of the civil war in the government’s favor..
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human rights, a UK-based monitoring group, more than 21,000 people, including 8,700 civilians, were killed in Russian military operations over the next nine years.
However, distracted by the war in Ukraine, Russia was unwilling or unable to help Assad’s government stop the rebels’ meteoric offensive that began in late November.
Hours after rebel forces took control of Damascus, Russian state media reported that Assad and his family had arrived in Moscow and would be granted asylum on “humanitarian reasons.”
But when journalists asked Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday about Assad’s whereabouts and his asylum request, he said: “I have nothing to tell you… for now. Of course, such a decision [sobre la concesión de asilo] It cannot be taken without the head of state. “It’s your decision.”
Assad’s ties to Russia, particularly Moscow, are well documented.
A 2019 survey by Financial times I discovered it Members of assad’s extended family had purchased at least 18 luxury apartments in the Russian capitalin an effort to keep tens of millions of dollars out of Syria during the civil war.
Meanwhile, Assad’s eldest son, Hafez, is a doctoral student in the city; A local newspaper reported the 22-year-old’s doctoral thesis last week.
Amid the weekend chaos, Russian state television reported that Moscow officials were in talks with “the Syrian armed opposition” to protect Russian bases and diplomatic missions.
Who are Assad’s wife and children?
photo caption, Asma al Assad was born and raised in west London.
assad is married to Asma, a British-Syrian woman born and raised in west london to Syrian parents.
Asma attended school and university in London before becoming an investment banker.
Asma moved to Syria full time in 2000 and married Assad around the time he succeeded her father as president..
Dr Nesrin Alrefaai, a visiting professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), told BBC News that Asma “has a British passport, so she could return to the UK” rather than stay in Russia.
“Though, the United States has imposed sanctions on her father, Dr. Fawaz al-Akhras, who is also in Russia,” he said, suggesting that Asma may want to stay in Moscow for now.
A 2022 U.S. State Department report to Congress says so The net worth of Assad’s extended family ranged between $1 billion and $2 billion.although he noted that it is challenging to make an estimate because “his assets are believed to be distributed and hidden in numerous accounts, real estate portfolios, companies and tax havens abroad.”
According to the report, Bashar and Asma maintained “close patronage relationships with Syria’s key economic players, using their companies to launder money from illicit activities and funnel funds to the regime.”
It is also stated that Asma has “influence on the economic committee managing Syria’s current economic crisis” and has made key decisions on Syria’s “food and fuel subsidies, trade and monetary issues”.
He also exerted influence over the Syrian Growth Fund, thru which most foreign aid for reconstruction in regime-controlled areas was channeled.
In 2020, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said as much Asma had “become one of Syria’s most notorious war profiteers” with the help of her husband and family.
Another senior Trump governance official described her as the ”head of the business family” and an “oligarch” who had been competing with Bashar’s cousin, Rami Makhlouf.
He is one of syria’s richest men and the family rift became public after he posted videos on social media complaining about the treatment he received.
After the fall of the Assad dynasty, the general secretary of Amnesty International, Agnès Callamard, stated that Syrians were subjected to what he called “a terrifying list of human rights violations.” which has caused untold human suffering on a large scale.
This includes “chemical weapons attacks, barrel bombs and other war crimes, as well as murder, torture, enforced disappearances and extermination that constitute crimes against humanity.”
He called on the international community to ensure that persons suspected of violating international law and other serious human rights violations are investigated and prosecuted for their crimes.
Syrian Islamic rebel leader Abu Mohammed al Jolani said on tuesday they will identify all senior officials of the deposed regime who were involved in the torture of political prisoners.
In France, investigating judges have requested an arrest warrant against Assad for his alleged complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes, in relation to a deadly chemical attack in Syria in 2013, under the legal concept of universal jurisdiction.
Assad is unlikely to leave Russia for a country where he could be extradited to Syria or any other country that could charge him with a crime.
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- What role do Russian oligarchs play in supporting Bashar al-Assad amid the ongoing Syrian conflict?
Ges and relationships with various businessmen and oligarchs in Russia and the wider region,” highlighting the deep ties between Assad’s regime and Russian interests.
the ongoing conflict in Syria, exacerbated by external interventions, has resulted in immense human suffering, while the dynamics between Assad and his supporters—including Russia—continue to evolve amid shifting geopolitical landscapes. The future remains uncertain for Assad and his regime as pressures mount both domestically and internationally.