Syria’s First Lady Prosecuted in UK for Encouraging Terrorist Action

Syria’s First Lady Prosecuted in UK for Encouraging Terrorist Action

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Syria’s first lady, Asma Assad, 45, could lose her British citizenship and could be prosecuted in the UK for being an ‘influential actor’ in inciting and encouraging terrorists, Sky News reported on Saturday. .

Allegations are directed at the wife of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has launched an investigation into the Metropolitan Police.

Sky News has noted that if the ‘desert rose’ of the Middle East – as she was called – is charged, the UK could ask her extradition to stand trial. According to the report, Guernica 37 International Justice Chambers accuses her of being among a number of “influential actors” who encouraged and incited terrorist acts and international crimes.
This month of March is a full decade since the Syrian civil war began. The death toll today is estimated at about 500,000 people, with more than 6.5 million displaced.

“This is an important step in holding senior political officials accountable for their actions,” the legal team behind the charges told Sky News, stressing the importance of not only extradition but also prosecution. “This is an important process and it is only right that justice be done in front of an English court.”

Asma Assad – born Emma Akhras – is a native of a London suburb who worked as an investment banker for JPMorgan in the 1990s. This is about the time when she met her future husband, Bashar.

The presidential couple both tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, after showing minor symptoms, and apparently felt well.

“We recognize that it would be politically useful to expose the first lady of her citizenship,” the legal team added. “It will not serve the interests of the hundreds of thousands of civilian victims of the 10-year conflict.”

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