Asma al-Assad’s tone, too, was impeccably sober when she gave her first television interview in eight years earlier this week. Nor was the fact that Russia’s bombing in support of Assad’s regime has led to widespread accusations of war crimes. Though the interview was hardly packed with revelations, the decision to speak out after years of silence has reignited fascination with a woman who has variously been described as Syria’s “desert rose” and the “first lady of hell”. How does this smart, elegant Londoner speaking the language of compassion square with the brutality of the regime her husband heads? Facebook Twitter Pinterest Asma al-Assad voting with husband Bashar at a polling station in Damascus in April 2016.

Source: The Guardian October 22, 2016 06:00 UTC