Assad Plays Music and Wife Shops while Syria Burns

Syria's Bashar al-Assad downloaded iTunes and his wife lavished stolen wealth on expensive jewellery while government forces pounded Syrian cities including Homs and killed thousands of Syrians, according to a Guardian report.

The Syrian leader was advised by the Iranian regime on how to handle the uprising, according to the newspaper report which has received a cache of 3,000 leaked emails.

The report claimed that the emails, believed to be from the private accounts of Assad and his wife were intercepted between June 2011 and early February 2012 by the Syrian opposition, the Supreme Council of the Revolution.

The emails reveal that Assad was briefed about the presence of foreign journalists in the Baba Amr district of Homs in November and was advised to tighten the security in the region.

The documents, which the Guardian said appear to be genuine after stringent efforts to independently verify them, also reveal how the inner circle of the Syrian leader continued to enjoy the luxury life while innocent civilians were being bombed.

The emails appear to show that Asma Assad indulged in online shopping ,spending thousands of dollars on designer jewellery while her husband downloaded music from iTunes.

On 5 February, the Syrian leader apparently sent the lyrics of a Blake Shelton song and the audio file downloaded from iTunes to his wife, according to the Guardian.

She shopped online for gold and gem-encrusted jewellery, chandeliers, expensive curtains, paintings and handmade furniture from Chelsea boutiques.

More than 50 emails to and from high-end British stores are typically signed "AAA", indicating Asma-al-Assad or Alia Kayali, the name of her secretary, the newspaper reported.