A female relative of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has won the right to refuge in Germany after the Munster administrative court on Wednesday ruled to grant her political asylum.
The German Office for Migration and Refugees in December 2016 had rejected the request of Fatima Massoud al-Assad — wife of Bashar al-Assad’s cousin, Hilal al-Assad — who holds Lebanese as well as Syrian citizenship, at the start of 2017 on the justification that she could live in Lebanon. Massoud, 47, objected to the decision.
But this week the court justified its new ruling saying that she could face prosecution if she returned to Syria. According to the administrative court in the city of Munster, the woman is not guaranteed security from prosecution in Lebanon either.
Massoud had fled Syria following an attempt on her life after her husband was killed and her son Suleiman arrested.
Before his death, Hilal al-Assad was the head the National Defense Forces militia in the coastal city of Lattakia.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
