Fact Check: viral claim of Bashar al-Assad visit to his aunt’s home in Moscow is false
Claim: The video shows Bashar al-Assad visiting his aunt’s home in Moscow in 2024.
Fact: The claim is false. The video is from 2017 and shows Assad visiting wounded soldiers.
Hyderabad: On December 20, 2024, thousands of Syrians gathered in Damascus’s Umayyad Square, celebrating the establishment of a new government with fireworks and displays of a new flag. The event followed the return of many Syrians to the country after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Amid these celebrations, a video went viral, claiming to show Assad visiting his aunt’s home in Moscow. The video, shared by an X user, was accompanied by the caption: “Bashar al-Assad visits his aunt in her humble home in Moscow, the Republic of Russia, where he took refuge” (translated from Arabic). (Archive)
The 1:30-minute video shows Assad, along with his family, visiting a house and being warmly received by a lady and others in the household.
Similar claims can be seen here and here. (Archive 1, Archive 2)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The video is not recent nor show Assad visiting his aunt.
A reverse image search led us to the same footage posted on YouTube by the Syrian Presidency channel on September 16, 2018, under the title ‘The hero, Ayham Mahmoud Donia, after his injury, received President al-Assad and his family himself, walking on his feet’.
This hinted that the video is old and unrelated to recent events.
Further, a keyword search led to a report from Al Yawm Al Saabie on June 26, 2017, which described Assad and his family visiting wounded soldiers in the Hama countryside.
The report included the same video, with the description stating that the woman in the footage is the mother of a wounded Syrian soldier.
The report explained that one of the soldiers, Ayham Mahmoud Donia, had been severely injured but defied expectations by walking again to greet Assad. This visit was part of the regime’s ‘Wounded of the Nation Program,’ aimed at supporting soldiers wounded in the conflict.
Therefore, the claim that the video shows Assad visiting his aunt in Moscow is false. The footage is from a 2017 visit where Assad met injured soldiers in Syria.
(This story was originally published by newsmeter, and republished by english.varthabharati.in as part of the Shakti Collective)
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1,850 missing mobile phones recovered as Delhi Police focusses on victim-centric policing
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Police has recovered 1,850 stolen and lost mobile phones worth around Rs 4 crore in past 40 days under "Mission Reconnect", an initiative aimed at returning phones to their rightful owners in outernorth Delhi, an official said on Saturday.
The recovered phones were traced from different parts of the country, including remote areas, through technical surveillance and sustained field operations, police said, adding that the devices were handed over to their owners during a programme at the Sports Ground, New Police Lines, Kingsway Camp.
The initiative focused on a victim-centric approach and aimed at strengthening public trust through proactive policing and coordinated efforts across states, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outernorth) Hareshwar Swami said.
As part of the programme, teams performed 'nukkad nataks' and screened awareness videos on cybercrime, drug abuse prevention, and senior citizen safety, sensitising the public about digital frauds and safety measures, officials said.
The initiative combines technology, investigation and community participation to ensure recovery of lost property and reconnect citizens with their valuables, they added.
