British lawmakers want to revoke the citizenship of Asma al-Assad, Syria's first lady

Asma al-Assad.
(Image credit: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images)

Citing Asma al-Assad's posts on social media in support of her husband, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Britain's Liberal Democrats are calling on the U.K. home secretary to revoke the passport of Syria's first lady, who was born in Britain.

Tom Brake, foreign affairs spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, has written to Amber Rudd, requesting that she use her authority to rescind Asma al-Assad's citizenship. "The first lady of Syria has acted not as a private citizen but as a spokesperson for the Syrian presidency," he said, and the British government should tell her to "either stop using your position to defend barbaric acts, or be stripped of your citizenship." They have the support of Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi, who said Asma al-Assad is "very much part of the propaganda machine that is committing war crimes."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.