All language subtitles for A Dangerous Dynasty House of Assad s01e01.eng

This programme contains scenes
which some viewers may find upsetting

I'd been at the Western for a year
as a junior ophthalmologist.

And we
had a Middle Eastern doctor.

His name was Bashar.

He came to work 00:00:23,519
he's dropped off 00:00:28,559
He was obviously of wealthy
Middle Eastern background.

So, it
was only an afternoon clinic

and a lady was called in,
Middle Eastern dress.

Popped
her chin in the slit lamp.

She
looked up at his face and...

..sudden
expression of surprise.

Started speaking very quickly
and very excitedly in Arabic,

and sort of touching his hand,
and got the rest of her family in,

and Bashar was very embarrassed
by this

and saying,
"No, please, please..."

The other members of 00:01:07,959
"Bashar, what's going on?
What was that about?"

And he said, 00:01:14,679
"but, my father,
he is President of Syria."

I
mean, that is the enigma.

It's hard to really place
that junior doctor

where he is in the context
of the world now.

Many have wondered how this former
eye doctor and his British-born wife

ended up running a regime
accused of war crimes.

Of
gassing their own people.

I know the man
behind the presidency.

I know the father
he is to his children,

and I know the husband
that he is to me.

And more importantly, 00:02:04,400
The answers
lie with their family.

A dynasty that has ruled Syria
for over 40 years.

Understand
their saga,

and you'll understand 00:02:30,960
This is
really a family enterprise.

This is a family 00:02:42,540
It
is always dangerous.

There
was this princess aspect,

and she wanted to be
the First Lady of Syria.

Power
became very important.

You ask yourself, "How does
this mild-mannered eye doctor...?

"How does he end up killing hundreds
of thousands of people?"

I think
it's an amazing photo.

It
is an amazing photo.

You can hold it and look at it,
and look at it, and look at it.

Amazing.

Cannot do a lot of analysis
about this without being emotional.

There's a Mafia-like character
to the Assad family itself.

The eye doctor.

This middle, 00:04:33,030
Bashar wanted to be loved 00:04:38,639
The older brother.

Bassel
al-Assad was the one

who was destined to become
the future leader.

Bassel reminded me
of a wealthy athlete.

The father has certainly
made a good choice.

The mother.

You had a very tough,
manipulative mother.

The strong figure in this family
was Anisa, the mother,

and she was known
to crack down even harder.

And Bashar's father, 00:05:21,260
Hafez al-Assad.

He has extraordinary eyes
that seem to look into your soul.

Hafez al-Assad was
an old-fashioned dictator.

At
his military parades,

soldiers were forced to kill puppies
in front of him.

Female soldiers were made
to bite off the heads of snakes.

You would do 00:06:22,100
That's
what this is about.

Also, the leader is watching you
do it, so you don't have a choice.

ANNOUNCEMENT
IN ARABIC

Dennis Ross was the man
the American Government sent

to deal with Hafez.

I developed a kind of interesting
relationship with him.

Now,
did he trust me? No.

They
didn't trust anybody.

This is a guy who lives in a world
of conspiracy and paranoia.

Anything I would be proposing,
he would always look for,

what's the hidden? 00:07:06,279
What's
the trap here?

And again, 00:07:13,470
whose whole worldview
was conspiratorial.

The story of how Hafez
rose to power is remarkable.

One of 11 children, 00:07:28,320
and
fought his way out.

He joined the army 00:07:48,420
always by his side.

Together, they worked their way
up the ranks with a combination

of bravery in battle 00:08:06,440
In 1970,
they masterminded a coup...

..and threw the previous
military leader in jail.

And that is how the Assad family
got control of Syria.

I was the junior political officer
in the embassy.

My job was to understand
Syrian politics.

Well, it was a socialist
military dictatorship

but, actually, there was a sort
of live and let live approach.

John Sawers would go on
to be the head of MI6.

But, in 1982,

he was a Foreign Office diplomat
travelling through Syria.

It was a tightly controlled society,
but one where Western diplomats,

for example, 00:09:09,959
We could travel to Aleppo,
to Palmyra,

up to the far north-east,
without, really, any difficulty.

If you didn't bother
the Syrian regime,

they
weren't going to bother you.

But if you did bother the Assads,
their response could be devastating.

In 1982, in the town of Hama,
the Muslim Brotherhood,

a group who wanted 00:09:47,950
Hafez and Rifaat 00:09:51,640
20,
000 people were killed.

How long do you think your regime
can survive battles in the streets

of
your cities like this?

TRANSLATION:
This is rather a strange question.

The question ought to have been,
have our enemies enough power

to
survive fighting us?

The wound of Hama ran very deep
in Syrian society

and there was a lot
of sympathy for the victims,

many of whom had nothing to do
with political opposition.

Hafez made his home in the hills
high above Damascus.

He hired
a Japanese architect,

and spent over a billion dollars
creating the family palace.

For his summer palace, he chose
a place near where he grew up,

on the banks of
the Mediterranean Sea.

Built for security,

it would also allow the family
a fast escape by water.

Hafez would spend his summers here
with his five children.

Syria was moving from coup d'etat
to another coup d'etat.

We only had stability in
Syria after 1970,

when
my father became president.

There was a complete separation
between politics and family relation

in our house.

My parents were very keen to make us
live as normal a life as we can.

Bashar was the second son to Hafez
and wasn't expected to take power.

As a young student,

he decided what he wanted
to do with his life.

I was excelling in science at
school, that's why I chose medicine.

I liked the idea of working
in the humanitarian sector,

so the medicine is the best
in that regard.

The question
that I asked my father,

"I would like to be a doctor.
What do you think?"

He told me, 00:13:04,079
"The most important thing
is if you succeed or not.

"So, whatever you do, 00:13:17,439
I can feel it coming
in the air tonight

Oh, Lord.

Whenever you travelled, to be
in contact with another culture,

you open your horizon,
you know what's happening

in the rest of the world,
you make dialogue.

He came across as a very friendly,
unassuming type of person.

He expressed his interest
in learning modern techniques

which they don't have in
Syria and so on.

He read a book about blindness
and the treatment of blindness,

and I think the psychology
behind being blind, many years ago,

and it impressed him so much
that he thought that he wanted

to
become an eye surgeon.

He
absolutely loved London.

He liked music.

I think Phil Collins
was one of his popular people.

And I think he spent some time
listening to that to relax.

It's
no stranger to you and me

Across London,
at the same time

Bashar is studying
at the Western Eye Hospital,

another student is working
for her computer science degree.

But I've been waiting
for this moment

For all my life

Oh, Lord.

Every day, Asma Akhras travels
from her home in Acton

to King's College.

I was born and raised in London,
to Syrian parents.

I know the Central Line
extremely well,

whether it was going to school,
going to university,

or
later on going to work.

Asma's mother works 00:15:13,810
and so she knows
that Bashar is in town.

The mother of Asma al-Assad
is a very ambitious woman.

And
it would be inconceivable

for her not to think
there is an opportunity.

Power and money and privilege
and recognition.

You're
going to the top.

If
it was the lottery,

it was
the best lottery there is.

I received
a British education.

What
I did have, though,

was a Syrian environment
within our family.

So I was very aware of Syrian values
and cultures and traditions.

But I was always brought up
with a notion that one day

we would all come back to Syria,
to try and help Syria,

to
try and work for Syria.

The reason Bashar is able
to pursue his life in London

is because Syria's next president
has already been lined up.

The next president will be
Bashar's elder brother, Bassel.

I remember
this picture was taken

a few years before I met
Bassel, I think.

Bassel almost never
dressed like this.

Bassel was the one being prepared
to be president.

So when you prepare, 00:17:07,959
You cannot be a president
without charisma.

You cannot be... 00:17:13,679
I.
..have to take advice."

You have to take a decision,
you are a man, you lead an army!

Hafez
al-Assad had a number of sons.

Bassel al-Assad was the eldest,
the spoilt one,

the one who was destined to become
the future leader.

And he was licensed
to do anything, really.

Bassel
was a champion horse rider.

In 1993, one of his rivals
beat him in a competition.

Bassel had him arrested
and put in prison.

I lost
a lot of Syrian friends

when they found out 00:18:03,479
They stopped visiting me,
they didn't want to be around me.

I could
sense that they were afraid.

He loved cars.

There were two that he preferred,
I think, to others,

and those were the Porsche
and the BMW.

And I had the pleasure
of riding in several of both.

I would sit in the front
seat with him.

But there were guns.

I mean, there was a machine
gun at my feet,

and there were pistols to the side,
and I once looked at him and said,

"You know, Bassel,
this machine gun is,

"like,
bouncing under my feet."

And he looked at me and he started
laughing and he said...

HE SPEAKS IN ARABIC

And I said... You know,
"Do you get scared?"

And I said, "Yes."
And he said, "I don't."

Like that.

And
I once, also, met Bashar.

I met him as he was
coming into the home,

and he didn't make
eye contact with me.

He just kind of was looking
down at the ground,

and stuck his hand out,
and that was it.

I thought, well, you know,
the father has certainly made

a good choice in choosing Bassel
as his successor.

My brother was 00:19:30,239
So
he was very popular,

and he was very much involved
in public affairs.

He had a lot of ambitions
for the country.

I supported him.

Back in London,
Asma has now met Bashar.

I know the family a long,
long time ago,

since
I was a child, actually.

He's very calm, he's very
thoughtful, and always polite.

But probably one of
the best things about him

is that
he is so easy to talk to.

You can talk to him about anything
and everything.

And that's great.

I turned on the news, and I saw
that Bassel had been killed

in a car accident.

It was one of the most
shocking...realisations for me.

I was
devastated by the news.

The expected successor
to President Hafez al-Assad died

when he crashed his car in heavy
fog in Damascus on Friday.

The chief
of staff in the military,

and the head 00:21:27,119
two
of them come to see him.

No-one has told him
that his son is dead.

This is 1994, 00:21:39,610
And his question to them
is, Is it a coup?"

He has, you know, 00:21:51,010
..and his question is,
Is it a coup?"

Bassel
was 31 when he died.

Not only has President Hafez
lost his eldest son,

but also the man he had groomed
to be his successor.

The longer he waits
to appoint a replacement,

the more vulnerable
the regime will be.

We have to understand here
another factor,

which
is the wealth of the family.

So you cannot preserve
the wealth of the family

unless you have a successor
from the family that can protect,

preserve
immunity and impunity.

So Hafez has to choose a member
of his family to succeed him.

It
can't be his daughter,

even though he clearly has
a high regard for his daughter.

I think he thinks his daughter
is stronger than Bashar.

But in his society,
it can't be his daughter.

Majd is a drug user
with mental health problems.

Maher
is the mother's favourite,

but he's
hot-headed and too young.

Hafez's brother, Rifaat,
would like to take over,

but
he's blown his chance.

Back in the 1980s, 00:23:28,279
Rifaat tried a coup, 00:23:32,479
But it didn't work,
and he was exiled.

Rifaat was really
his right-hand man.

This
was about raw power.

It
is quite Shakespearean.

It is all about loyalty and blood
ties and plots and secrecy.

Rifaat was never allowed back
into the heart of power.

Which
leaves Bashar, the eye doctor.

He was
never meant to be involved

in the brutality
of the family business.

But
now he's the oldest son,

and he's looking
like the only option.

PHONE RINGS

A friend and a relative called me
to say, "There was an accident,

your brother."

They didn't tell me
whether he was dead or not.

So I
didn't have any information.

It was just right
after the accident.

I came back the same day,
to Damascus.

At that time, I felt that I have
to go back to Syria forever.

He's suddenly dragged back
from London and all his plans,

whatever they may have been for
his life, are completely ripped up.

He's
put into the spotlight.

And he has to immediately
start showing his credentials,

he has to prove himself -
not just to his father.

Bashar's uncle,
Hafez's brother, Rifaat,

returns from exile
and appears at the funeral.

At the graveside, Rifaat throws
himself on to the coffin

to show his grief.

But
it's seen as a sign

that he wants 00:26:30,680
That's
the last thing Hafez wants.

When they took the body
in the plane,

it was
directly decided from Hafez

that he's going to present Bashar
as the next president.

Done!

Hafez gives Bashar a crash course in
how to be a Middle Eastern dictator.

First, he fast-tracks him
through the military.

Bashar wasn't planning
to be an army leader,

to fight a war.

It was reflected even
by the way he stands,

he talks, the shy,
how he covers his mouth.

How he doesn't look at your face
like this hawk in front of you,

totally different.

Bashar then gets a course
in international diplomacy,

Hafez
al-Assad style.

I joined President Assad
in expressing my pleasure

that our
two governments are today

re-establishing
diplomatic relations.

Hafez has seen off
six US presidents,

always
giving them the hope

that he'd be their ally
in the Middle East...

..but, at the last minute,
not delivering.

It's a technique 00:28:51,050
This...this joke about
the hamburger sandwich seller.

When the customer
will take the bread,

he just finds that the vendor
has withdrawn the hamburger.

And
he's eating just bread.

The game is how 00:29:16,319
he feels
he's getting a good deal,

then you just withdraw
the hamburger.

This
is a model of his thinking.

With Bashar now in line to be
president, Asma appears in Damascus.

Just one question to begin,
I saw you coming from your car.

You are very involved,
you are a very active woman.

Do you
have a busy day, actually?

God,
that's an understatement.

Asma had been working as 00:30:09,450
She was then offered
an MBA at Harvard.

When I
did get accepted to Harvard,

it came at the time 00:30:18,879
So it
was almost not a choice.

Who would
choose Harvard over love?

No way.

She
had maybe the thought

that she could empower and change
Bashar al-Assad in a way.

And I think, we all,
as women, we had hope that,

you know, we can change,
influence,

and I think that could be
in the mind of Asma.

Of course...

I am sure, yes.

Of course he does.

What human being
doesn't have any faults?

Without any public announcement
or fanfare,

Bashar
and Asma get engaged.

A whole Syrian generation
has known no other leader

and they're bound to be nervous
about the future.

The newsreader on 00:31:32,039
as he announced 00:31:34,399
at the age of 69.

Members of the Syrian parliament
wept as they were told.

President Assad of Syria has died
after three decades in power.

And so Bashar becomes
the leader of his country.

Most important, 00:32:07,039
Elite Republican guard troops
are around the hospital

where
President Assad died.

They have been ordered to arrest
Rifaat if he tries to come home.

And delegations from
across the world arrive,

ostensibly
to pay their respects...

..but also to get in the ear
of the new president.

The Iranians.

The Palestinians.

The Americans.

The French.

The Russians.

And the British.

They
all want a piece of him.

I met Bashar twice in the aftermath
of his father's death.

Each time, I felt 00:33:19,440
to try
and prove how smart he was.

And there was a lot
of unknowns about him,

and it wasn't just us
who had the unknowns.

Everybody
had the unknowns.

And there was a lot of speculation
at the time,

real powers would be
behind the scenes,

and that
he wouldn't be his own man.

Nobody really knew.

Tonight, as Bashar
lays his father to rest,

many hope the son 00:34:05,930
Meanwhile, Asma is doing something
rather extraordinary.

Like
a princess in a fairy tale,

she decides to travel 00:34:26,319
..and
speak to the Syrian people

before moving in 00:34:34,079
I wanted to get out, 00:34:37,319
but talk about the issues,
as I said, on my own terms.

So what did you do?

You went out in jeans
and mingled with the people?

Absolutely, absolutely,
and they had no idea who I was.

And that's where
the frankness came in,

and that's where
the dialogue came in.

And that's a rapport
I continue today.

Bashar
is just 34 years old...

..and the constitution says
that the president must be over 40.

So the
constitution is changed...

..and an election is held
with only his name on the ballot.

Syria
went through very tough times.

There was this unwritten deal
that we would forgive

about the past
if we start a new page -

if we turn the page.

The
hopes were so high.

People
were eager for change.

THEY CHANT

Bashar
would drive the change.

He
would push for it.

THEY CHANT

So now the world
wants to know who he is.

Former
Tory MP Brooks Newmark

travelled to Syria a number of times
and got to know him.

I would go back 00:36:59,120
and it
went on for about five years.

It was quite strange for me
to sort of go into the lion's den,

but
he was quite civilised,

and
his English was very good.

He was softly spoken,
and we actually got into,

I thought, you know,
a good conversation.

I remember talking 00:37:31,559
Who,
when Bashar got a jet ski,

I think
it was for his birthday,

who says, "Oh, I hear
you've got a jet ski,

"this is great, you know,
I'd like to use it.

"Can
I use your jet ski?"

And, of course, Bashar, you know,
can't say no, says,

"Yes, of course
you can use my jet ski,

"absolutely
- no problem at all.

"You
know, use the jet ski."

The
person leaves the room

and Bashar immediately 00:38:02,319
"Whatever you do, do not let
so-and-so touch my jet ski."

It's a small anecdote, but I think
it says a lot about Bashar.

That
he's a people-pleaser,

he sort of can't say no to
people to their face

but, on the other hand,
I suspect the little child

still
sits within Bashar today -

that
he wants his own way.

Bashar starts his presidency
by pushing through some reforms.

He promises to fight corruption,
and he opens up the media.

For the first time,

the Syrian press is allowed
to criticise the regime.

One of the key journalists
in this new world is Ibrahim Hamidi.

I was the first Syrian journalist
to interview him.

The leader of Syria 00:39:23,239
Would see American, British,
French journalists -

not Syrian journalists, 00:39:29,340
So, for
me, it was a breakthrough.

When you meet with him,
when you talk with him,

he
is like any other Syrian.

He's like you.

At that
moment, it was amazing.

There
is a transition.

The
regime's opening up.

He gave us peace 00:39:58,239
There
was no limit for the dream

and the hopes 00:40:12,090
Six months after Bashar is sworn
in, he marries Asma.

There's
one thing we both changed

and that is that we both
drive our own cars.

The President drives himself
around almost everywhere, as do I.

And,
again, it's just that...

It's just to try and feel normal,
to try and be as normal as possible.

After
100 days in power,

I decided to write a story
about that.

I tried.

I spoke to some officials
and they refused.

And they said, "We're different
and we're not judged -

and will not be judged -
after three months."

And
I did not write the story.

So that was one of the indications
that you are facing the reality,

rather
than your wishful thinking.

A big catastrophe
for the whole region.

SIRENS

The main perception is that the
region will be entering into wars,

and that the United States will
shake the regimes in the region.

By destruction, by wars,
by blood, by many things.

I can hear you.

The rest of the world hears
you and the people...

CHEERING

..and the people 00:42:29,199
will
hear all of us soon.

CHEERING

As America and its allies move
armies into the Middle East...

..Syria's position, 00:42:54,000
gives
it a key strategic importance.

Now Bashar has to decide whose side
he's on in the war on terror.

A Prime Minister visiting anywhere
is a big deal.

The first ever visit 00:43:21,300
was
an even bigger deal.

Bashar
drove Tony Blair personally

down the middle of the main souk -
Souk Al-Hamidiya - in Damascus.

The symbolic
gesture of doing that

and then conducting him
around the mosque,

all that part of it
was very positive,

and the press corps,
who were with Tony Blair,

were
impressed by all that.

St John the Baptist
is one of the prophets

who is accepted evenly
and equally as by the others.

In private, Bashar promises Blair
and the West his support.

I very much welcome 00:44:13,039
that
you've made to me.

I think that is important,
that the entire world knows

that the world community is united
in condemning what happened

on the 11th of September
as an atrocity.

But in front of the press,
Bashar takes a different tack.

That was another...

He thinks, I think,
that this is the way

smart politicians should play.
It's not about building trust.

It's not about building mutual
interest, it's about buying time,

it's about camouflage,
it's about hiding,

and it's never 00:45:48,239
While the international
focus is on Bashar,

Asma is adjusting to her new life
as First Lady of Syria.

How hard has it been to go
from West London to Syria?

From a personal perspective,
it hasn't been too difficult

because, ultimately,
my private life,

my family life, 00:46:13,759
but I take a lot of the skills
that I picked up in the UK,

whether it was the British education
that trained me

in analytical thinking,
creativity, teamwork,

or whether it was the rigours
of working in the City,

and working to the highest
professional standards,

these are all skills that I use
today to make a positive impact.

She
gives birth to a son,

who they call Hafez,
after Bashar's father.

At this time, she had to be
accepted by her in-laws

and, I think that she was struggling
in this hostile family.

She was not the girl they would
have liked Bashar married.

I think they regarded her as.
.. um, as an outsider,

as someone perhaps
that had other intentions.

We would hear rumours
about tensions,

both with the mother, 00:48:07,799
With America and Britain
gearing up for war with Iraq,

Bashar and Asma
are invited to London

to
try and get them onside.

The feeling
at the time, I think,

was that Syria,
from the British side,

was that Syria 00:48:27,559
and therefore, keeping in with them
would be a good thing.

Broadly speaking, 00:48:34,479
should be, you know,
sufficiently prestigious,

if
I can put it that way...

You know, he should get the right
level of attention so that,

for example, tea with the Queen
was an important thing.

The President of Syria
and Mrs al-Assad, Your Majesty.

Hello. Good afternoon. How
are you? Hello. Very nice to meet you. Hello.

You sound as though
you've been having

a very busy time
since you've been here.

It's wonderful to be back.
I'm enjoying it thoroughly.

I used
to be here as a doctor.

I used to work in Marylebone,
but for a while I used

to have a course in
King's College. Yes.

I
used to pass by this...

Pass the house.
Yes, indeed.

Back in Syria,
rumours are spreading

of
the forthcoming Iraq War.

Bashar's
chosen journalist

finds out about 00:49:28,140
and
writes the story.

As a journalist, I reported
about the Syrian government

is preparing
itself for a war,

and they are building
refugees' camps

next to the Syrian-Iraqi borders
and they did not like the story...

..the wizara said.

And then they accused me
of spreading false information.

The wizara said, because I published
authentic information...

..it was more psychological
punishment, more than physical.

Solitary confinement
for almost six months.

Working as a journalist
in a country like Syria,

part of
the qualification is that...

..mentally, physically, you need to
be prepared for being arrested.

That is the price.

MUSIC: Planet Telex
by Radiohead

And so begins the double life
of Bashar and Asma al-Assad.

On the one hand, 00:50:48,260
and
promise a new Syria...

..but the reality
of their government

is
just like his father's.

For Bashar, 00:51:13,690
..to forget about
the reform process.

You can crush it
but it's always here...

The political system,
or the political regime

of al-Assad's family at that
time was on the edge,

and they needed someone
like Asma al-Assad at that time.

They needed someone who was liberal,
who was beautiful, who was British,

in order to show the world
that Syria is changing.

Everything is...

Asma and her family must
have been overjoyed, thrilled.

I think she must have felt,
"I've made it."

She
must have had that in mind.

If she is going to marry
the president,

she's going to come back
as the princess to Britain.

At this hour, 00:52:32,120
GUNFIRE AND YELLING

..are in the early stages
of military operations...

..to disarm Iraq,
to free its people...

Slow down! Regroup!

..and to defend the world
from grave danger.

No-one quite knew 00:52:58,279
and I think the Syrians
were concerned

the
next stop might be Damascus,

especially if the invasion of Iraq
had been a big success.

The invasion of Iraq was really
the turning point for Bashar.

That's when he realised
that, for his own security,

his own future, 00:53:33,190
At this point, Bashar does something
that will change history.

He secretly releases Islamic
fundamentalists from his prisons,

arms them 00:53:46,860
to
fight the Americans.

MUSIC: Angel
by Massive Attack

The Muslim prisoners that Bashar
released and sent over the border

are a major reason that America
and Britain get bogged down in Iraq.

There's no doubt that 00:54:29,879
arose because extremists
sympathetic to Al-Qaeda

were fuelled with weapons,
ammunition and support from Syria.

So
the task of stabilising,

especially the west and north of
Iraq, became vastly more difficult

because of the actions
of the Syrian regime.

We have information that shipments
of military supplies

have been crossing the border
from Syria into Iraq.

We consider such trafficking
as hostile acts

and will hold 00:55:12,900
He
knows that they know.

It's
about a Mickey Mouse game.

It's
a Mickey Mouse game.

To try to understand 00:55:29,039
the
CIA turns to Jerrold Post -

a psychiatrist who studies
the minds of dictators for them.

This is
really a family enterprise.

And
the power of Hafez...

..his kids grew up
seeing this giant figure,

and that had to have 00:56:05,190
I think that was particularly
true for Bashar.

A
way of thinking about this

is your father sitting
on your shoulder...

HE TUTS

A father who admires
strength and virility.

So, underlying all of
Bashar's leadership,

there has to be 00:56:36,879
Hafez
was this sort of modest,

brutal, cold leader,

thoughtful and pragmatic
how he applied himself.

Bashar has this impulse -
he acts on impulses.

In a few years' time,
the Muslim fundamentalists

that Bashar released will cross
the border back into Syria...

..and try to set up
an Islamic State there.

There were lots of rumours
about Asma being in seclusion.

There
is no way back for her.

Now, for her, 00:58:01,999
Bashar al-Assad had increasingly
problems with everyone.

His mother would say, 00:58:09,719
And then there is another brother,
who's even worse.

And that's Maher,
who does the real killing.

A massive
car bomb has exploded

in the centre of 00:58:22,359
killing the country's
former Prime Minister.

Would you have ordered such
an assassination? No.

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