Writing on social media, one person captioned it: ‘A picture found in the palace of the idiot and criminal Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo.’ Another picture shows a young Assad in nothing but white pants and a vest, clearly posing for the camera as he leans against a kitchen counter and turns his head. Other eerie images show him in a khaki hunter costume with a gun and fur accessory, standing alongside friends who are dressed as a cowboy and a soldier. Wearing blackface, he stands alongside two other men who are dressed in culturally inappropriate costume.
The dated photos, seemingly from when the 59-year-old was a young man in the 80s and 90s, also show him posing in denim jean shorts and sunglasses. In another picture he appears to be on a balcony overlooking the sea, teasing a girl who is sat on his shoulders who is clinging on to him as she tips backwards. The pictures, along with the opulent houses they were found in, show the privileged lives the Assad family led in Syria, where many citizens live on around one dollar a day.
