Assad in his pants: Syrians plunder the dictator’s home and discover bizarre personal photos of him in his underwear and blackface… and also of his jacuzzi
Rebel fighters who stormed Bashar Al-Assad’s palaces and properties across Syria after he overthrew his regime have exposed the dictator’s lavish lifestyle and collection of deeply personal photographs to the world.
Footage shows Syrians triumphantly strolling through his mansions, exposing the luxurious lives he and his family enjoyed while millions suffered under his brutal regime.
One of his palaces, high in the hills above Damascus, was also visited by journalists who noted its extravagant décor, amenities including a hairdressing salon and jacuzzi, and security features including bulletproof doors to his bedroom.
Meanwhile, old photos reportedly found during the looting of his homes show a young Assad in his underwear – images he never expected the eyes of the world to see, but which have since circulated on social media.
Unearthed family photos of the tyrant show one of him apparently out for a walk and standing cheerfully next to a cousin wearing a T-shirt with the image of Adolf Hitler.
Another image, apparently from a fancy dress party, shows the former ophthalmologist in blackface dressed as a hunter, holding a rifle as he grins at the camera.
The inappropriate images have been ridiculed by Syrians, who after decades of forced detention, displacement and persecution under Assad and his father’s tyranny, have hailed his ouster and exile as the dawn of a new era.
Assad’s homes, which appear to have been hastily abandoned by him, his family and his allies as rebel fighters closed in, have been stripped of his remaining belongings by Syrians seeking revenge.
One photo shows Assad in nothing but white pants and a vest, clearly posing for the camera
A jacuzzi is seen in one of Assad’s palaces – a hilltop residence outside Damascus
A photo of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad believed to be wearing only Speedos was taken by rebels after the capture of his palace in Aleppo
Other creepy images show him in a khaki hunter costume with a gun and a fur accessory, standing next to friends who are also dressed up
In another photo, he appears to be sitting on a balcony overlooking the sea and teasing a girl sitting on his shoulders
The billionaire’s luxury belongings have been looted from his homes, while furniture, documents, letters and other items are strewn across the destroyed buildings.
Very personal memories have been found among his belongings in his palace in Aleppo and in Damascus, such as photos of the deposed president during his wedding to British-born Asma Akhras, but also bizarre images of him from his youth.
Rebel fighters who took Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, in a lightning advance nearly two weeks ago, came across a photo of the former Syrian leader scantily dressed as a young man.
The image shows Assad, years before he inherited his father’s presidency, posing next to three other people in swimsuits as they sit on the side of a boat at night.
One person wrote on social media: ‘A photo found in the palace of the idiot and criminal Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo.’
Another photo shows a young Assad in nothing but white pants and a vest, clearly posing for the camera as he leans against a counter and turns his head.
Other creepy images show him in a khaki hunter costume with a gun and a fur accessory, next to friends dressed as cowboys and soldiers.
He wears blackface and stands next to two other men dressed in culturally inappropriate costumes.
A huge atrium with marble floors and luxurious furnishings was abandoned after Assad’s ouster this week
A large bedroom in one of the presidential palaces, located outside Damascus
The dated photos, apparently from when the 59-year-old was a young man in the 80s and 90s, also show him posing in jeans and sunglasses.
In another photo, he appears to be sitting on a balcony overlooking the sea, teasing a girl who sits on his shoulders and clings to him as she leans back.
The photos, along with the lavish homes in which they were found, show the privileged lives the Assad family led in Syria, where many citizens live on around one dollar a day.
Assad’s wife Asma, a London-born doctor’s daughter who married into the dynasty in 2000, became accustomed to a life of luxury, with reports of having spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on home furnishings and clothing during her husband’s reign of terror.
The US State Department estimates the family is worth $2 billion, with their wealth hidden in countless accounts, shell companies, offshore tax havens and real estate portfolios.
Unearthed family photos of the tyrant show one of him apparently out for a walk and happily standing next to a cousin wearing a T-shirt with the image of Adolf Hitler
These photos appear to show the 59-year-old as a young man in the 80s and 90s
Photos of the Assads’ abandoned homes have emerged after a dramatic week in which opposition fighters took Damascus, sealing the stunning fall of the Syrian dictator’s brutal regime.
After capturing Damascus, Hayyet Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist group leading the rebel factions, said on Telegram that this was the end of a dark era.
Rebels reached the Syrian capital on Sunday for the first time since the region was retaken by government forces in 2018 and immediately headed for Assad’s official and family homes, where looting was already taking place.
Photos now show empty and smoke-blackened rooms around Tishreen’s presidential palace, and yesterday rebel fighters sought revenge on late President Hafez Al-Assad by setting fire to his grave.
His son and his extended family have now left their homeland in disgrace and will begin a new life in exile, most likely without the luxuries they have become accustomed to.
