Asma al-Assad has '50/50' chance of survival due to leukemia diagnosis

According to the report, Asma al-Assad has been isolated and kept from others in order to prevent infections or contracting other illnesses. 

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF DECEMBER 26, 2024 02:00

A view of a picture of Asma, wife of Syria's Bashar al-Assad at one of the rooms in Presidential Palace known as Qasr al-Shaab "People's Palace", after rebels seized the capital and ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria December 10, 2024. (photo credit: Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)

Asma al-Assad, the wife of deposed Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, has been given a "50/50" chance of survival due to her leukemia diagnosis, the Telegraph reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, Assad has been isolated and kept from others in order to prevent infections or contracting other illnesses. 

Sources in contact with the Assad family told the Telegraph that Asma's father, Fawaz Akhras, has been caring for his daughter in Moscow and is "heartbroken" by her condition. 

Earlier leukemia diagnosis 

Asma was diagnosed with leukemia, the presidency said in May of this year, almost five years after she announced she had fully recovered from breast cancer.

The Assad family fled to Russia from Syria after being overthrown in early December during an offensive by rebel forces. 

Syria Asma Assad and Bashar Assad vote 390 (credit: REUTERS)

Previous reports indicated that Asma al-Assad filed for divorce from her husband, applying to a Russian court and requesting special permission to leave Moscow. 

She reportedly seeks to move to London, though British Foreign Minister David Lammy ahs said that she is no longer welcome in the country.

Asma is a dual British-Syrian national who was born and raised in London by Syrian parents, moved to Syria in 2000, and married Assad in the same year at the age of 25.