Asma al-Assad was kept in isolation to ‘avoid infection’ and was prohibited from sharing a room with others [Getty]
The wife of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is severely ill with leukaemia and has been given a fifty percent chance of survival, according to media reports.
Asma al-Assad was kept in isolation to “avoid infection” and was prohibited from sharing a room with others, a report by the British Daily Telegraph newspaper said.
Her leukaemia had returned after a period of remission, the daily said.
The Assad family sought refuge in Moscow earlier this month after a lightning rebel offensive resulted in the capture of the Syrian capital Damascus on 8 December.
Asma, who was born in London in 1975, reportedly travelled to Russia with her children ahead of her husband, and was being cared for by her father, Fawaz Akhras – a cardiologist with British nationality.
In May, Syria’s presidency revealed that Asma, the then-first lady, had been diagnosed with acute leukaemia, a type of cancer affecting the bone marrow and blood.
She underwent treatment for breast cancer and announced in 2019 that she was cancer-free following a year of therapy.
Earlier reports indicated that Asma was frustrated with the restrictions imposed on her in Russia and had sought to divorce her husband and seek medical treatment in London.
The Kremlin has dismissed these claims, while the Assad family has remained silent on the matter.
Asma had a great deal of influence within her husband’s brutal regime, controlling key aspects of the economy including the telecoms sector and a major charity organisation.Â
David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, said that Asma was not welcome to return to the UK.
“I’ve seen reports in recent days about Asma Assad, who potentially holds UK citizenship and might attempt to enter our country. I want it confirmed that she is a sanctioned individual and is not welcome in the UK,” he told the Commons after the fall of the Assad regime.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said it was “far too early” to determine whether Asma, a dual British-Syrian national, could have her UK citizenship revoked.
Senior British officials have recently travelled to Damascus to engage with Syria’s new authorities, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
