What Do We Know About the Mysterious Death of Luna Shibl, Special Advisor to Bashar al-Assad?

A small number of Syrians attended the funeral of Luna Shibl, special advisor to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, on July 6. The quiet funeral was attended only by a few close relatives of Ms. Shibl. Official reports state that Luna Shibl died from injuries sustained in a car accident and was buried in the al-Dahdah cemetery in Damascus, not in her hometown of Sweida. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that unlike the usual mourning practices following the deaths of officials close to Bashar al-Assad, the state television did not broadcast images of her funeral, nor did its presenters wear black. The Syrian government typically exhibits such behavior only towards officials accused of 'betraying the homeland.' The opposition television channel 'Souria,' which broadcasts from abroad, published images of the funeral on its website and social media accounts, noting that no official figures were present. According to reports, other networks and media outlets in Syria were prohibited from covering Ms. Shibl's funeral. The political and media office of the Syrian presidency reported on July 3 that Luna Shibl was involved in a car accident. According to the state news agency SANA, she suffered severe injuries and was hospitalized in Damascus. Reports indicate that another vehicle collided directly with Luna Shibl's car, causing it to veer off the road. The driver of the second vehicle was arrested and taken to a security center. Rami Abdul Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, mentioned that dissatisfaction with Luna Shibl had increased in recent months, with accusations that she leaked a record of secret negotiations between Syria and Iran to Russia. Reports also indicated that since May, Ms. Shibl's role in the presidential palace had been limited, and Bashar al-Assad had sidelined her and others, including Buthaina Shaaban and Ali Mamlouk, from the 'Central Committee of the Ba'ath Party.' This news has been confirmed by several Arab media outlets, including Al-Arabiya. Reports suggest that about a week before the car accident, Luna Shibl's husband, Ammar Sa'ati, was banned from traveling to Russia, where they own a summer retreat in Sochi. Previously, Ammar Sa'ati had been removed from his position as head of the youth office and membership in the ruling Ba'ath Party's 'Leadership Committee.' The reason for these developments was cited as 'Iranian dissatisfaction with the leaking of records of Bashar al-Assad and Syrian officials' meetings with Iranian officials to Russia.' Other opposition sources have mentioned that following an airstrike attributed to Israel on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps began actions to target espionage networks in Syria. In the airstrike on April 1 against the Iranian consulate in Damascus, at least 14 people were killed, including seven members of the IRGC. Major General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander of the Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon, was among the casualties of that attack. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Major General Malham al-Shibl, Luna Shibl's brother, was arrested by security forces a few days before the car accident on charges of contacting parties hostile to Syria, possibly the United States or Israel, regarding the airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus. Luna Shibl was born in September 1975 into a Druze family in the city of Sweida, southern Syria. After graduating in journalism and media from Damascus University, she worked for the state television of Syria and then joined Al Jazeera in Qatar as a presenter and program producer in 2003. In 2010, she resigned from Al Jazeera and returned to Syria. A year later, in 2011, she entered the presidential palace and became Assad's media advisor, overseeing the information and public relations office of the Syrian president. In the presidential palace, Luna Shibl was not just a journalist; she was assigned prominent political roles and gained powers, including the ability to appoint the Minister of Information and directors of state media institutions. Luna Shibl accompanied Bashar al-Assad during meetings with foreign delegations and on the few foreign trips he made since 2011. She was a participant in the Syrian government's delegation at the so-called Geneva-2 talks in 2014. In November 2020, Bashar al-Assad appointed her as a special advisor to the president. In the same year, the U.S. Treasury added Shibl to its sanctions list for her 'key role in promoting the false narrative of the Syrian government, claiming control over the situation in the country and the flourishing of the Syrian people's conditions.' In June 2022, Luna Shibl opened a luxurious and expensive Russian restaurant in the Mezzeh neighborhood of Damascus, an action that drew criticism even from Assad's supporters, especially given the economic situation in Syria. After separating from Sami Kalib, a journalist for Al-Mayadeen, in 2016, she married Ammar Sa'ati, the former head of the student union in the Ba'ath Party and a member of the Syrian parliament.