Asma al-Assad has been given a 50/50 chance of survival as the leukemia returns

Asma al-Assad is seriously ill with leukemia and has been kept in isolation by doctors who have given her a “50/50” chance of survival, The Telegraph understands.

The British wife of the ousted Syrian dictator, Bashar al-Assad, has been kept away from others to prevent infection and cannot be in the same room as anyone else.

Her father, Fawaz Akhras, has been looking after his daughter in Moscow and was described as “heartbroken” by sources close to her family.

Assad and his wife sought refuge in Moscow after his brutal regime collapsed after 13 years of devastating civil war.

The Syrian President's office announced in May this year that the woman who was the first at that time was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a dangerous cancer of the bone marrow and blood.

She was also treated for breast cancer and in August 2019 she announced that she is “completely free” of the disease after a year of treatment.

His leukemia is believed to have recurred after a period of remission.

“Asma is dying,” said another source who has been in direct contact with the family representative in recent weeks. “He will not stay in the same room with someone [because of her condition].”

Another source, who has been in contact with the family in Moscow, said: “When the leukemia comes back, it is brutal.

“He was 50/50 the last few weeks.”

Mrs Assad, 49, a 49-year-old Syrian-British, is thought to have flown to Moscow for treatment sometime before the Kremlin persuaded her husband to flee for attempted treason.

Her father, a respected cardiologist on Harley Street, has been looking after her for most of the past six months, first in the United Arab Emirates and later in Moscow.

This was revealed after reports that he is fed up with the restrictions imposed on him in Moscow and is seeking medical treatment in London and seeking a divorce.

The Assads have not commented on the reports, although the Kremlin later denied that she wanted to divorce her husband.

This week, Robert Jenrick, the justice secretary, said “it would be an insult to the millions of Assad's victims if his wife returned to a life of luxury in the UK”.

The Telegraph can also reveal what is believed to be the source of the divorce reports. Turkish journalists are thought to have been briefed by Russian spokesmen.

Despite Russia's massive military and economic support for Assad from 2015 onwards to enable him to maintain his power, personal relations between Putin and Assad are said to have cooled in recent months.

The two leaders are said to have been wary of each other, with Moscow frustrated by Assad's refusal to reform or align with the opposition.

Assad's defeat despite Russian security guarantees is now an embarrassment for Putin, analysts and observers argue.

His defeat also means that Moscow is at risk of losing the port of Tartus and several military bases in Syria that have become the bases of Russia's operations in the Mediterranean and Africa.

Mrs Assad grew up in Acton, west London with her father, mother Sahar, a former diplomat at the Syrian embassy, ​​and brothers Feras, 46, and Eyad, 44, who are also doctors.

She got a first in computer science from King's College London and went into investment banking before starting an affair with Assad in 1992.

At the time, Assad was not expected to take over from his father, but after his brother Bassel died in a car accident in 1996, he became the heir, and became president in 2000.

The couple's changing and Western-friendly image unfolded when Assad brutally suppressed pro-democracy protests in 2011, plunging the country into war.

Mrs Assad has been punished for her role in supporting her husband and the Foreign Secretary this month said he did not want to see her return to the UK.

David Lammy said: “I want it to be confirmed that he is a convicted felon and is not welcome here in the UK.”

He added that he would do “everything in my power” to ensure that no member of the Assad family “finds a place in the UK”.

Assad and his wife have three children: Hafez, who is a PhD student, Zein and Karim. They have been joined by a large family in Moscow.

Hafez was already in Moscow when his father was overthrown, studying mathematics at Moscow State University.

At the end of November, the 22-year-old defended his book, written in Russian and focusing on algebraic number theory and polynomial research.

In his closing remarks, he expressed gratitude to the “martyrs of his country”, especially those from the Syrian army.