Web desk: Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted from power ten months ago, was reportedly the target of a poisoning attempt in Moscow.
According to an international news agency, Assad’s health deteriorated after he was allegedly poisoned, and he was rushed to a hospital in the Russian capital.
Doctors confirmed that his condition had initially been serious, but following medical treatment, he has now been discharged and is said to be recovering.
Sources close to the matter suggested that the incident was not only an assassination attempt but also part of a wider plan to tarnish Russia’s image and portray Moscow as being complicit in the attack.
The former leader, now 60 years old, has been living in Russia since his removal from office earlier this year.
Syria’s new government has formally demanded his extradition, but Moscow has so far refused, insisting it will not hand him over.
Reports indicate that following the suspected poisoning, Assad’s contact with the outside world has been heavily restricted. Only his brother, Maher al-Assad, has been granted permission to meet him.
No official statement has yet been released by the Russian authorities regarding the incident.
Russia gave asylum to Bashar al-Assad
Formerly, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had confirmed that Bashar al-Assad, after being removed from office, was granted political asylum in Russia following his flight from a swift opposition advance.
He stated that the decision was taken personally by President Vladimir Putin.
“Of course, such decisions cannot be made without the head of state. It is his (Putin’s) decision,” Peskov had told reporters in Moscow. At the time, however, he refrained from giving details about Assad’s exact location and clarified that Putin was not scheduled to meet with him.
“The Russian authorities have granted political asylum,” Al Jazeera’s Yulia Shapovalova had reported from Moscow.
She noted that reports indicated Russia had not abandoned the ousted Syrian president during such “difficult circumstances,” adding that Assad was allegedly flown out aboard a Russian aircraft from the Latakia airbase.
