What lies ahead for Assad and his family?

When Bashar al-Assad was toppled on Sunday, it turned the page on not only his 24-year presidency but on more than 50 years of his family ruling Syria.

Before Assad took office in 2000, his late father Hafez was president for three decades.

Now, with rebels led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir-al Sham (HTS) forming a transitional government, the future of the deposed president, his wife and their three children is uncertain.

They are now in Russia, where they have been offered asylum, but what lies ahead for them?

Why did Assad flee to Russia?

Russia was 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 an air campaign in support of Assad that turned the tide of the war in the government’s favour.

in the government’s favour.

A UK-based monitoring group reported that more than more than 21,000 people, including 8,700 civilians, were killed in Russian military operations over the following nine years.

A UK-based monitoring group reported that more than more than 21,000 people, including 8,700 civilians, were killed in Russian military operations over the following nine years.

However, distracted by its war in Ukraine, Russia was either unwilling or unable to help Assad’s government stop the rebel’s lightning offensive after it began in late November.

Hours after rebel forces seized control of Damascus, it was reported by Russian state media that Assad and his family had arrived in Moscow and that they would be granted asylum on “humanitarian grounds”.

But when Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about Assad’s whereabouts and asylum claim by reporters on Monday, he said: “I have nothing to tell you… right now. Of course, such a decision [on granting asylum] cannot be made without the head of state. It is his decision.”

The Assads’ ties to Russia, specifically Moscow, are well-documented

A 2019 investigation by the Financial Times found that Assad’s extended family had purchased at least 18 luxury apartments in the Russian capital, in a bid to keep tens of millions of dollars out of Syria during the civil war.

Meanwhile, Assad’s eldest son, Hafez, is a PhD student in the city – with a local newspaper reporting just last week about the 22-year-old’s doctoral dissertation.

Amid the chaos at the weekend, Russian state TV reported that officials in Moscow were in talks with “the Syrian armed opposition” to secure Russia’s bases and diplomatic missions.

Who are Assad’s wife and children?

Assad is married to a dual British-Syrian national, Asma, who was born and raised in west London to Syrian parents.

She 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 his father as president.

Dr Nesrin Alrefaai, a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), told BBC News that Asma “holds a British passport, so could return to the UK” instead of remaining in Russia.

However, the USA [has] imposed sanctions on her father, Dr Fawaz al-Akhras, who is also reported to be in Russia,” she said – suggesting Asma may want to stay put in Moscow for now.

In a report by the Mail Online, neighbours were quoted as saying Asma’s father, a cardiologist, and mother Sahar, a retired diplomat, wanted to be in Moscow to “console” their daughter and son-in-law.
Assad and his wife have three children: Hafez, the PhD student, Zein and Karim.