Asma al-Assad, the wife of Bashar al-Assad, is a dual British-Syrian citizen. She and her husband are currently living in Russia as refugees after Mr Assad was ousted by the opposition and forced to flee the country. Turkish sources say Asma wants to return to the UK for cancer treatment and has filed for divorce.
The Telegraph reported that on December 22, the British Prime Minister's Office refused to comment on whether Asma's passport would be revoked. However, Robert Jenrick, currently Shadow Secretary of State for Justice (Minister of Justice in the opposition government), said: "Her return to the UK to live in luxury would be an insult to the millions of victims of the Assad family."
The title of "Shadow Secretary of State" is in the British political system, in which members of the main opposition party act as monitors and critics of the policies of the current government. These are the corresponding positions in the "Shadow Cabinet" of the opposition party, in preparation for the event that their party gains control of the government in the future.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has previously said Asma is "not welcome" in the UK and sanctions against her remain in place.
In 2012, Asma's UK assets were frozen under EU sanctions amid protests against her husband's regime. These sanctions remain in place after Brexit.
In 2021, London police opened a preliminary investigation into allegations that Asma had incited and supported war crimes committed by Assad regime forces during the 13-year Syrian civil war.
The US also imposed sanctions on Asma and her family in 2020. Then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called her "one of Syria's most notorious war profiteers".
British-born Asma al-Assad was once a modern, pro-Western role model. She graduated from King’s College London with a first-class degree in computer science and worked at major banks such as Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan.
However, that image collapsed after her husband carried out crackdowns during the 2011 uprising, leading to a civil war that lasted nearly 14 years.
Kristyan Benedict, crisis manager at Amnesty International, said the British authorities needed to thoroughly investigate any reports of Ms Asma's involvement in human rights abuses if she came to the UK.
Alicia Kearns, the opposition security minister, provoked: "Go to Britain, Asma. A prosecution for inciting, aiding and abetting war crimes awaits you."
The British government has previously stripped citizenship from people who join extremist groups such as IS. Researcher Bader Mousa Al-Saif said Asma's case "deserves more severe treatment".
On December 23, Russia denied reports that Mrs. Assad was trying to divorce her husband and leave Russia.
Theoretically, Mrs Assad could still return to London with her children. But if she were granted entry, she would have to leave her husband, or he would be arrested on arrival in the UK.
