A photo of Asma al Assad from The Vogue article that disappeared online. We have a copy here.
Asma al-Assad, the first lady to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, has announced she is battling leukemia. The news was shared on her Instagram channel in Arabic and English. Asma was previously featured in a controversial Vogue article and has been linked to the Captagon drug trade in Syria.
Asma is battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), a rare and aggressive cancer that primarily affects older individuals but can also impact young adults and children. This type of leukemia requires prompt treatment to prevent life-threatening complications.
While we do not wish harm on anyone, it is essential to understand the history of the Assad family, particularly Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorial regime in Syria.
- Consolidation of Power:
- Bashar al-Assad inherited the presidency from his father, Hafez al-Assad, who ruled Syria for three decades with an iron fist. Bashar’s ascension to power in 2000 was facilitated through constitutional changes, ensuring his unchallenged leadership. The Syrian population lived in fear under the Assad regime, with dissent suppressed and opposition eliminated through authoritarian measures.
- Under Assad, Syria has become a one-party state with little room for political pluralism. Elections are widely considered to be manipulated in favor of the ruling party.
- Suppression of Dissent:
- The Assad regime has a long history of stifling political opposition through surveillance, arbitrary detentions, and brutal crackdowns on dissent. Activists and journalists critical of the government are often subjected to harassment, torture, and imprisonment.
- During the Arab Spring protests in 2011, Assad’s security forces responded with extreme violence, triggering a bloody civil war that has devastated the country and led to widespread human rights violations.
- Civil War and Human Rights Violations:
- Assad’s regime has been implicated in numerous atrocities during the Syrian civil war, including the use of chemical weapons, indiscriminate bombings of civilian areas, and siege tactics that have caused immense suffering among the population.
- International organizations have documented torture, mass killings, and the deliberate targeting of medical facilities by Assad’s forces, resulting in a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale.
- Press freedom in Syria is severely restricted, with independent journalists facing grave risks for reporting on government abuses.
- Control Over State Institutions:
- The Assad regime exerts tight control over the military, judiciary, and media, using these institutions to maintain its grip on power and suppress dissent. The rule of law is often disregarded in favor of the regime’s interests.
- Information is tightly controlled by the government, and censorship is pervasive in Syria, limiting access to unbiased news and alternative viewpoints.
- Cult of Personality:
- Similar to other authoritarian leaders, Bashar al-Assad has cultivated a cult of personality, presenting himself as a savior of the nation against external threats and internal instability. Propaganda glorifies Assad’s leadership while silencing opposing voices.
- Syria ranks poorly in terms of freedom and human rights, with international watchdogs condemning the regime’s practices and labeling the country as one of the least free in the world.
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