'Likely forged' documents circulate claiming Asma al-Assad was MI5 spy
Documents circulating on social media claiming Syria's former first lady Asma al-Assad was a spy for British intelligence have been described as "likely forged".
The first of the documents, both posted by Syrian journalist Nizar Nayouf on his Facebook page, purports to be from Syrian intelligence stating in 1992 that they placed Bashar al-Assad, son of the then president Hafez al-Assad, under surveillance after a meeting he had with Asma and former MI5 official Eliza Manningham-Buller at a hotel in London.
Bashar, who became president in 2000 following the death of his father, was training to be an ophthalmologist in London.
"In implementation of your directives to place Dr Bashar under positive surveillance during his studies in Britain, the officers of the division assigned to follow up on the mission found that he had carried out the following activities during the last weeks outside of his study and training commitments at the hospital," reads the report.
It also claimed a second meeting with Manningham-Buller occurred at Asma's house in Acton during a party, which also allegedly featured former MI6 Moscow station commander Raymond Asquith.
"Although the evening was a social one, the British guests asked Dr Bashar political questions (related to internal Syrian affairs and his relationship with some members of the leadership in the country)," reads the document.
"They tried to find out whether he had any contact with them."
The second document, dated 1998, also purports connections with the Oxford Analytica foundation, which was established by the US National Security Council, and claims Asma was working for British intelligence while working at JP Morgan.
Both documents purport to be from the desk of General Ali Issa Douba, Syria's intelligence chief under Hafez al-Assad.
The link to the Nayouf's Facebook post was inaccessible on Wednesday afternoon, however.
Asma Fawaz Akhras, who was 17 at the time of the alleged meetings, married Bashar al-Assad in 2000 shortly after he took over as president.
? Leaked documents reveal that Asma Fawaz Al-Akhras the wife of the dictator Bashar Al Assad was in fact an agent to the American NSC and the British Mi5 and she along side with Assad himself, were both under surveillance by the Syrian intelligence
— Abd alhade alani (@abdalhadealani) January 7, 2025
Here is full informations : pic.twitter.com/SXbn7pol1b
Someone on X, however, noted the first document was typed using the Kawkab Mono Arabic font, which he pointed out was invented in 2015 by himself.
"Unless the document on the left was printed in 2015 or later to mimic the aesthetic of a typewriter for some reason, it is likely forged," wrote Abdullah Arif.
Before the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, relations between the Assad government and the US and UK fluctuated.
In the early 2000s, Assad and his wife, who is a British citizen, were invited to the UK by the then prime minister Tony Blair, where Assad met Queen Elizabeth and was even considered for a knighthood.
In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Assad allowed Syria to be used as a site for the torture of suspects abducted by the US intelligence services.
But Assad always maintained relations with the US's arch-nemesis Iran and was accused of allowing Syrian territory to be used by al-Qaeda and other armed groups travelling to Iraq to fight the US occupation.
