BEIRUT (AP) — Bizarre and private pictures of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad have surfaced from his deserted residences, sparking ridicule amongst Syrians who solely till not too long ago have been persecuted for criticizing his management.
The pictures, reportedly found in picture albums from Assad’s mansions within the hills of Damascus and Aleppo, painted an unflattering portrait of Bashar and his father, Hafez Assad, who had dominated Syria with an iron grip for many years. They stripped away the rigorously constructed picture that the Assad household had cultivated.
One picture featured Hafez Assad in his underwear, putting a bodybuilder-like pose. Other pictures confirmed Bashar Assad in a Speedo flexing his biceps; astride a yellow bike in his briefs; perched on a handcycle, additionally in his briefs; and staring blankly in a kitchen, carrying solely white underwear and a sleeveless undershirt.
Social media footage confirmed Syrians touring the Assads’ opulent estates, revealing extravagant decor, jacuzzis and different lavish possessions out of attain of strange individuals dwelling amid civil conflict since 2011. Fueled by many years of persecution and a want for vengeance, individuals stripped the mansions of valuables and uncovered Assad’s personal world, together with a few of his picture collections.
The unbecoming pictures of Assad in numerous states of undress and odd eventualities rapidly went viral, turning into an object of mockery. For many Syrians, who had endured compelled imprisonment, displacement and oppression underneath the Assad dynasty, these pictures served as each a spectacle and a second of catharsis.
“What is it with the Assad household and being photographed of their underwear? Highly occupied with realizing the fantasy behind,” journalist Hussam Hammoud wrote on X.
One notably peculiar shot confirmed Bashar in a Speedo aboard a ship, surrounded by different individuals. Another depicted him on a balcony overlooking the ocean, teasing a lady sitting on his shoulders.
In one picture, taken in a mountainous setting, Bashar Assad is pictured with a bunch of individuals, together with his reportedly maternal cousin, Ihab Makhlouf, who’s carrying a T-shirt emblazoned with a picture of Hitler.
One video on social media confirmed a person flipping by a whole lot of pictures in an album, that includes pictures from household events. One picture confirmed a younger Bashar in a go well with and his spouse Asmaa in a white costume, reportedly from their engagement ceremony, as he locations a hoop on her finger. Another picture captured a topless Bashar posing with a digital camera, as if taking an image.
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