Several photos of deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, including a few racy images, have become viral, demonstrating a jarring contrast with the iron-fisted regime he perpetuated over Syria for 25 years. After his recent flight to Russia as rebels took control of key cities, including the capital, Damascus, the photos emerged from albums left behind by the president when rebel forces breached his posh residences in Damascus and Aleppo.
Included are the shirtless Assad, seemingly taking a selfie, and another of him riding a scooter in his underwear. The most striking photo of all has to be the one where he is flexing his biceps while clad in a speedo. In yet another, he is seen with a woman perched on his shoulders and placing a ring on his wife’s finger.
The collection also includes a photo of Assad’s father, Hafez al-Assad, who ruled Syria until his death in 2000, posing in his underwear. The release of these personal photos has sparked ridicule toward a leader often criticized for his autocratic regime. Saad Abedine, a journalist with Al Jazeera, shared some of the images on social media platform X, saying they would induce “endless nightmares for days to come.”
Syrian journalist Hussam Hammoud also remarked on the strange interest in these pictures, asking why the #Assad family was always getting photographed in their underwear. “What is it with the #Assad family and being photographed in their underwear? Highly interested in knowing the fantasy behind,” he observed, pointing out how very weird these photos were.
With Syria’s civil war still going on, rebel forces in Aleppo and Damascus have stripped the various Assad mansions of valuables in a country where the meaning of luxury has been reduced to plain survival since the conflict erupted in 2011.
