Truth behind Bashar Assad's Russian passport

Published December 23rd, 2024 - 07:54 GMT
Bashar Assad
Photo of Bashar Assad's fake Russian passport circulating on X

ALBAWABA - Ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad recently found himself trending on social media after internet users shared an alleged picture of his Russian passport amid his unplanned departure to Moscow, Russia. 

An investigation launched by the Qatari fact-checking website Misbar on December 20, deemed Assad's Russian passport fake and altered since the original photo belonged to a Wikipedia page discussing Russian internal passports. 

Truth behind Bashar Assad's Russian passport

Bashar Assad

(Photo of Bashar Assad's fake Russian passport circulating on X/ An RF internal passport on Wikipedia)

Upon closer inspection, the altered image showed minimal changes, the most notable being the placement of Assad's photo. Both the passports' serial numbers were identical which is impossible since each passport needs a different combination of numbers. 

Moreover, the birthplaces of both passports were not altered, indicating that Assad was born in Arkhangelsk, Russia which is wrong since the ousted Syrian President was born in Damascus, Syria.

On November 8, the Military Operations Department in Syria announced the fall of the regime of former President Bashar Assad after a revolution that broke out in 2011.

Moreover, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali called on all Syrians today to preserve the state's public property saying it belongs to all Syrians.

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