© 2024
NPR for Northern Colorado
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

European Union Slaps More Sanctions On Assad Family

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma.
AFP/Getty Images
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma.

In effort to add pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad, the European Union has announced new sanctions on a dozen Syrians, including Assad's wife, his mother, sister and sister-in-law.

"I cannot say to you in strong enough terms how much we are concerned about what's going on in Syria," said Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, according to CNN. "I'm really worried about the escalating spiral of violence there.

"Sanctions make a significant difference because they do two things: One is they target individuals and entities in ways that prevent them from carrying on their business as usual, and secondly, they make a strong political statement about how the international community feels about what's going on," she added.

Asma Assad, the president's wife, has come into the spotlight after The Guardian published emails that showed her enjoying shopping sprees while government security forces killed civilians.

The Guardian reports today that sanctions mean the four women are now banned from accessing EU accounts and traveling to the European Union.

The case of Asma Assad, however is more complicated. Assad was born in England, so she can still travel to the country.

The Guardian adds:

"And despite the asset freeze, British government sources said Asma would still be able to use the house she owns in London. There would be no attempt to strip her of her British nationality.

"'British passport-holders have a right of entry to the UK. But given we are imposing an asset freeze on all of these individuals and a travel ban on other members of the same family or regime, we are not expecting Mrs Assad to try and travel to the UK at present,' said [Foreign Secretary William] Hague following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels."

Meanwhile, the killing in Homs has not subsided. Quoting activists, Sky News reports the shelling of the restive city of Homs continues — 19 are reported dead today.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta
Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Related Content
  • As the civilian death toll rises in Syria, there are increased calls to provide arms to the Syrian opposition. Turkey is well-placed to take the lead. But Ankara is thus far reluctant to send arms across the border or use its military to create humanitarian safe zones inside Syria.
  • The student council at the University of California Irvine approved a resolution Thursday demanding that Dr. Hazem Chehabi, Syria's honorary consul in Southern California, be removed from the post of chair at the UC Irving Foundation.
  • The student government at the University of California, Irvine voted Thursday night to call for the resignation of Dr. Hazem Chehabi, who is the chairman of its school's foundation. He also serves as the Syrian consul general in California. He is a personal friend of Syria's dictator Bashar Assad.