Asma al-Assad, the British-born wife of deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, is reportedly fighting an aggressive form of myeloid leukemia in Moscow with doctors giving her a 50/50 chance of survival. The 49-year-old former first lady is being treated in isolation due to infection risks, according to The Telegraph.
Sources close to the family report that Asma, once dubbed the “Rose of the Desert,” is seeking treatment in London and has reportedly filed for divorce from Assad, whom she married in 2000. Her father, Harley Street doctor Fawaz Akhras, is currently overseeing her care, though her family denies divorce claims.
The former investment banker’s cancer battle follows a previous successful treatment for breast cancer. Now in Moscow following Syria’s regime change, she reportedly seeks to return to the UK despite facing significant political and legal barriers. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has emphasized she remains unwelcome in Britain due to her association with the Assad regime.
Asma, who met Assad in the early 1990s while he studied ophthalmology in London, faces continued international sanctions that complicate any potential return to the West. Her current situation in Moscow has been described as a “golden cage,” marking a dramatic shift from her former role as Syria’s First Lady.
