Reports claim that former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad was hospitalized after being poisoned while in Russia. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a human rights watchdog, stated that al-Assad was admitted to an emergency room in critical condition on September 20th. He was reportedly poisoned while at home in a villa near Moscow, which the report claims is heavily guarded by Russian authorities.
Al-Assad was granted political asylum in Russia after being deposed last year. His movements are restricted, but he has had many visitors to the villa. “Whether the poisoning was a result of confusion or more, no one knows,” reads the report. When al-Assad was admitted to the hospital, he was in critical condition and placed in intensive care at a private facility in or near Moscow suburbs.
The report noted that only the party responsible for the act would know whether it aimed to kill al-Assad or embarrass the Russian government. Sources suggest the Russian government had no involvement in the poisoning, with the incident potentially intended to implicate Russia and demonstrate that President Putin is incapable of protecting him. Russian officials have not commented on the matter.
Authorities now in power in Syria have demanded al-Assad’s extradition, which Russia has refused. Putin personally granted asylum to Assad along with members of his family and regime associates. Al-Assad, 60, has not been seen in public since arriving in Russia and is assumed to be under close guard by Russian secret services.
There is no independent evidence confirming the poisoning claim. An earlier report after al-Assad’s arrival in Russia less than a month ago noted he “complained to his security about feeling unwell and having trouble breathing,” though this account was not verified. The U.S. state department estimates that the former dictator’s family is worth $2 billion, with their wealth concealed through numerous accounts, shell companies, offshore tax havens, and real estate portfolios. He, his British wife, and their three adult children left behind their Syrian palaces and began a new life in Moscow when Putin granted them asylum in December.
