Racy photos of Bashar Assad discovered after his fall spark ridicule – National

Bizarre and personal photos of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad have been uncovered from his abandoned residences, causing amusement among Syrians who were previously punished for criticizing his leadership.

The images, found in photo albums from Assad’s mansions in Damascus and Aleppo, portrayed Bashar and his father, Hafez Assad, in a less-than-flattering light. They shattered the carefully crafted image that the Assad family had maintained for years.

One photo showed Hafez Assad in his underwear, posing like a bodybuilder. Other pictures depicted Bashar Assad in a Speedo flexing his muscles; riding a yellow motorcycle in his briefs; sitting on a handcycle, also in his briefs; and gazing blankly in a kitchen, clad only in white underwear and a sleeveless undershirt.

Footage on social media displayed Syrians exploring the luxurious estates of the Assads, revealing extravagant decorations, jacuzzis, and other opulent possessions that were out of reach for ordinary citizens enduring civil war since 2011. Driven by years of oppression and a thirst for retribution, people looted the mansions and exposed Assad’s private life, including his photo collections.

The embarrassing images of Assad in various states of undress and peculiar situations quickly went viral, becoming a source of ridicule. For many Syrians who had suffered imprisonment, displacement, and oppression under the Assad regime, these photos provided both entertainment and a moment of release.

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“What is it with the Assad family and being photographed in their underwear? Highly interested in knowing the fantasy behind,” journalist Hussam Hammoud wrote on X.

One particularly peculiar shot showed Bashar in a Speedo aboard a boat, surrounded by other people. Another depicted him on a balcony overlooking the sea, teasing a girl sitting on his shoulders.

In one photo, taken in a mountainous setting, Bashar Assad is pictured with a group of people, including his reportedly maternal cousin, Ihab Makhlouf, who is wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with an image of Hitler.

One video on social media showed a man flipping through hundreds of photos in an album, featuring images from family occasions. One photo showed a young Bashar in a suit and his wife Asmaa in a white dress, reportedly from their engagement ceremony, as he places a ring on her finger. Another image captured a topless Bashar posing with a camera, as if taking a picture.

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