Calls for Syria's Asma al-Assad to lose her UK citizenship
Lib Dems demand Home Secretary Amber Rudd deliver an ultimatum to President Bashar al-Assad's wife

MPs have called for Asma al-Assad, the wife of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, to be stripped of her British citizenship.
The Liberal Democrats say the 41-year-old, who was born in Acton, London, to Syrian parents, should stop defending her husband's "barbaric acts" or lose her citizenship.
Foreign affairs spokesman Tom Brake has written to Home Secretary Amber Rudd urging her to give Assad an ultimatum.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
He wrote: "The First Lady of Syria has acted, not as a private citizen, but as a spokesperson for the Syrian presidency.
"This is a barbarous regime, yet Asma al-Assad has continued to use her international profile to defend it, even after the chemical weapons atrocity."
He added: "The government is entitled to deprive someone of their citizenship if it is conducive to the public good because that person has prejudiced the interests of the UK."
Writing in The Guardian, Nadhim Zahawi, Conservative MP for Stratford-on-Avon, said Assad is "no longer worthy" of citizenship after becoming one of "her husband's chief cheerleaders".
She has "used her platform on social media to defend her husband, deny his use of chemical weapons and attack the west, while portraying life in the war-ravaged country as blissfully normal", wrote Zahawi.
According to Sky News, Assad has around 500,000 followers on various social media accounts in her name.
Zahawi, who was born in Baghdad, added: "British citizenship is an honour to hold and should be highly prized. I know personally how precious citizenship of our great country is, as someone who was not British by birth."
As Assad is a Syrian national but a British citizen by birth, she can have her citizenship revoked. Stripping someone of their citizenship is controversial when it might leave them stateless, but dual nationals are considered to be able to fall back on their country.
Last June, the Bureau for Investigative Journalism found that between 2010 and 2015, Theresa May, then home secretary, revoked the citizenship of 33 individuals on the grounds they were involved in terrorism, or preparing to be involved in it.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - April 20, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - Pam Bondi, retirement planning, and more
By The Week US
-
5 heavy-handed cartoons about ICE and deportation
Cartoons Artists take on international students, the Supreme Court, and more
By The Week US
-
Exploring the three great gardens of Japan
The Week Recommends Beautiful gardens are 'the stuff of Japanese landscape legends'
By The Week UK
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Is the pro-Assad insurgency a threat to the new Syria?
Today's Big Question Interim leader accuses regime loyalists and 'foreign backers' of trying to 'divide and destroy' the country
By The Week UK
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff
-
The challenge facing Syria's Alawites
Under The Radar Minority sect that was favoured under Assad now fears for its future
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK