What we find out about Assad’s ‘golden caged’ British spouse and why she’s not welcome in UK

The former first lady of Syria, who was once described a ‘desert Rose’ in western media, started life as the daughter of a well-off couple living in a London suburb and attended private school

Former first lady of Syria Asma al-Assad is reportedly eyeing up a move to her native London after she allegedly filed for divorce from her tyrant husband. The couple fled Damascus and sought asylum in Russia after rebels took over the capital city on December 8.

The 49-year-old is understood to be seeking a move from Russia as her leukaemia ‘cannot be adequately monitored in Moscow’. Rumours of Asma seeking divorce from her husband of 24 years have circulated online and there is speculation she needs to be separated as a return to London ‘cannot be based solely on health reasons’.

However, No 10 confirmed yesterday that Asma – despite being a British citizen – cannot return to the UK due to sanctions brought against her by the UK government. Foreign Secretary David Lammy insisted she is ‘not welcome here in the UK’ due to sanctions.

Conservative MP Robert Jenrick warned she should not be allowed to return to Britain because the “Assad family were responsible for some of the worst atrocities in modern times.” He told the Telegraph: “It would be an affront to the millions of Assad’s victims if his wife returned to a life of luxury in the UK.”

And it has also been reported that the former first lady of Syria has been in Moscow for “several weeks” seeking treatment for her cancer. However, the Kremlin denied the claims reported by Turkish outlet Haberturk that she is trying to leave her husband and seek asylum in the UK.

Political analyst Stanislav Belkovsky warned that Ms Assad may want to return to her life before moving to Syria as an investment banker living in London. He said: “Life in Moscow, Russia – in a golden cage – is no longer satisfactory for Asma Assad.

“She wants to move to London, UK and return to work in investment banking [and] at the same time, if possible, to remove part of her family’s capital from sanctions.”

Despite the grim outlook Asma’s life in Russia has taken, it began in the leafy west London suburb of Acton.

She was born in 1975 to her Syrian cardiologist father Fawaz Akhras, who worked in Harley Street, and diplomat mother Sahar. Despite her parents’ conservative Muslim background, Asma was educated at the secular Queen’s College in Marylebone, where friends called her Emma and fees today are almost £9,000 a term, according to the Daily Mail.

She then went on to study at King’s College London, where she graduated in 1996 with a degree in computer science and French literature. After college, she worked as an investment banker for Deutsche Bank in New York before moving back to London with a job in Morgan Stanley.

She first met Bashar al-Assad, who was studying to become a doctor at London’s Western Eye Hospital, in the 1990s. At the time, Bashar was described as a “geeky IT guy” by his peers.

They became an item in 2000 after reuniting in Damascus when Asma was visiting family in the capital city. By this stage, Bashar was next in line to rule Syria after his brother Bassel died in a car crash.

The pair married the same year they were reunited when Asma was 25 and Bashar a decade older. And it wasn’t long until Bashar’s father Hafez – who ruled the country with an iron fist for three decades – died, making way for his son to take over in a sham election.

The couple unveiled plans to reform the country with Asma buying up art to facilitate Syria becoming a cultural centre. They had some success and even attracted superstar celebrities Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Sting and Damon Albarn to the country.

However, when the Arab Spring emerged in 2011, the true nature of Syria’s leadership was revealed as Assad launched a horrific crackdown on protesters and opposition politicians. Some 13,000 Syrians were tortured and Assad even used chemical weapons on his own people during the civil war.

Despite the hardships the civil war brought on the Syrian people, Asma and her husband continued to live in luxury as international aid was channelled through her charity, the Syrian Trust. That was until the regime was toppled on December 8 and they were forced to flee to Russia, where they sought asylum from Vladimir Putin’s government.

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