The wife of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Asma Assad, may have cooperated with British intelligence, Syrian opposition journalist Nizar Nayouf finds, Sky News Arabia reports.
Asma Asad was born in London. She graduated from King's College, University of London and took a job at JPMorgan Bank. According to Syrian intelligence services, British intelligence officer Eliza Bowler, who secured her the position, assisted her at work. The Syrian authorities may have been aware of Asma al-Assad's occupation. It was for this reason that then head of state Hafez al-Assad was against his son's marriage to her.
According to intelligence reports, during Bashar's meetings with Asma and her mother at luxury hotels in London, a large number of British intelligence officers were on duty outside. They were also present at one of the soirees hosted by Asma's father. Bashar al-Assad also attended the event. During the meeting they discussed internal Syrian affairs and Syrian-Israeli relations.
It is not yet possible to confirm the authenticity of the documents that the journalist referred to.
Asma Asad's mother worked in a high position at the Syrian Embassy in London. Bashar Assad himself moved to London in the early 1990s to study for an ophthalmologist. It was around that time that their relationship with Asma began. In July 2000, Hafez Assad passed away, and Bashar Assad took over. The couple married soon afterwards.
Asma had been working in a bank for two years by that time. She received an invitation to transfer to Harvard Business School. When declining, she explained that "a dashing Syrian whisked her off to Libya where he sealed the deal in a tent in the Sahara."
The Telegraph earlier wrote that the wife of the former Syrian president was suffering from a relapse of acute myeloid leukemia (a type of blood cancer). Doctors estimate her chances of recovery at about 50/50.
Asma Asad has been receiving treatment since at least May 2024. She arrived in Moscow for treatment weeks before the fall of the Assad regime.