The New York Times: How did Bashar al Assad abandon his aids?

The New York Times published an extensive report detailing the luxurious life of ousted President Bashar al Assad and his brother Maher, and the narrow circle surrounding them in the Russian capital, Moscow, pointing to the whereabouts of 55 senior Assad officials and the luxurious life they live.

In its report, the New York Times noted two different approaches taken by the brothers, Bashar and Maher, in their dealings with those who had previously served them in exile after Assad’s fall.

Maher al Assad has been relatively generous to his closest officers and aides, sending money to his longtime operatives and allies in Syria and abroad to help them settle or start small businesses in their new lives.

Bashar al Assad abandoned his aides In return, the New York Times revealed that Assad abandoned his personal and financial assistant who accompanied him on his journey to escape from Damascus, as he left him stranded in Moscow, bankrupt and without any support, which prompted this aide to choose to return to Syria.

The New York Times didn’t name the financial aid, previous reports confirmed that two people accompanied Bashar al Assad on his flight from Syria to Russia via Hmeimim airport were Yasar Ibrahim, Assad’s most prominent economic arm and treasurer, and Mansour Azzam, Assad’s secretary-general for presidential affairs.

According to the New York Times, the aide, whose duties included carrying the president’s bags and opening doors for him, was among the few people Assad took on his trip to Moscow, at dawn on December 8, 2024, where the aide was ordered to suddenly join Assad on his trip, so much so that he couldn’t take his passport or bring money and clothes.

The aide accompanied Assad to his stay at the Four Seasons Hotel in Moscow, where he was asked to stay in a separate suite with two other Assad aides.

The next morning, the hotel staff brought them a hefty bill to be paid.

In a panic, the three aides repeatedly tried to contact the ousted president, but he never answered their call, prompting Russian officials to eventually intervene, offering to move the aides to a Soviet-era military post with other lower-ranking Assad regime officers.

The personal assistant, who was left destitute and penniless, dispensed with the Russian offer and instead arranged to return to Syria, where he now lives quietly with his family in a mountain village, without mentioning the name of this village, in the hope of avoiding attracting attention, the sources said.

The New York Times quoted three people in contact with the aide as saying that he is in financial distress and sometimes has to accept money from another official in the Assad regime to cover his expenses, noting that the Assad family hasn’t given him anything at all.

One former aide to Bashar al Assad said he was living his life to the fullest in Moscow, as if nothing had happened.

“Bashar al-Assad insulted us when he was here, and deceived us when he left”.