Asma al-Assad, the wife of ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, will not be able to return to the United Kingdom, where she was born, due to the expiration of her British passport.
According to sources within the British government, cited by The Times, her passport expired in 2020, creating a legal barrier to her return.
Recent speculation suggested that Asma Assad was seeking to divorce her husband and return to Britain to continue treatment for leukemia. However, the report indicates that her expired passport prevents her from traveling back to London.
It remains unclear whether British authorities obstructed her ability to renew her passport or if she allowed it to lapse on her own. The sources emphasized that Asma Assad no longer possesses a valid British document and hinted that Home Secretary Yvette Cooper would not permit her entry to the UK, even on medical grounds.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy previously told parliament that Asma Assad is “not welcome” in the UK.
Born and raised in Acton, West London, Asma al-Assad became Syria’s First Lady in 2000 after marrying Bashar al-Assad shortly after he assumed the presidency.
The Assad regime was decisively overthrown earlier this month following a swift offensive by rebel forces led by the Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Media reports indicate that Asma fled to Moscow weeks before Damascus fell, later joined by her husband.
