DAMASCUS: Syrian’s President Bashar al-Assad adviser Luna Shibl has succumbed to his injures on Friday, three days after she was severely injured in a car accident, said the president’s office.
“The presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic mourns the death of the adviser Luna Al-Shibl, who passed away today after a serious car accident,” it said in a statement.
“She served in recent years as a director of the political and media office of the presidency and then as a special adviser to the presidency,” it added.
According to state media reports from earlier in the week, Shibl was involved in a traffic accident on Yaa’four Road in Damascus, resulting in a cerebral hemorrhage after her vehicle veered off the road. She was initially treated at a nearby clinic before being transferred to intensive care at Al-Shami Hospital in the Syrian capital.
Shibl, aged 48, gained prominence for leaving a prestigious journalism career at Qatar-based Al-Jazeera to join Assad’s team as a media adviser. She became a trusted figure in Assad’s inner circle, accompanying him to significant domestic and international meetings, including during the height of the Syrian civil war. She was also part of the delegation involved in peace talks in 2014, which ultimately proved unsuccessful.
However, reports from the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights earlier this week indicated that Shibl had recently fallen out of favor within the regime. Allegations surfaced against her, including accusations of leaking confidential meeting minutes between Assad and Iranian officials. Furthermore, her brother was reportedly arrested by Syrian intelligence on charges related to alleged communication with parties hostile to Syria, following an Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus in April.
In 2020, Shibl and her husband, Ammar Saati, were sanctioned by the United States Treasury, which accused her of playing a key role in promoting Assad’s false narrative about maintaining control over Syria and the well-being of its people under his leadership.
