Luna al-Shibl, a senior advisor at the Syrian presidential palace, meticulously planned her exit in stages: first, her husband (her second, after the prominent Lebanese journalist Sami Kleib) would leave Syria and settle in the luxurious villa they purchased in Sochi, Russia.
Her brother, Mulham al-Shibl, an officer in the presidential guard in Damascus, would then visit. In the final stage, Luna would join them and settle in the villa in Russia. The Moscow authorities were aware of the plan and had given their consent.
However, last Tuesday, al-Shibl's vehicle collided with an anonymous armored car equipped with a sharp metal plate at the front while she was en route to the palace. The car struck the rear seat where al-Shibl was sitting, causing her serious injuries. She lost consciousness and was taken to a local clinic, then transferred to Al-Shami Hospital in Damascus. On Friday, three days after the accident, she was pronounced dead.
It has now emerged that al-Shibl had dangerous rivals. Asma al-Assad, the president's wife, had tried to oust al-Shibl five years ago without success. Rumors about al-Shibl's "special" role as President Bashar al-Assad's lover had also reached his wife. Additionally, Bouthaina Shaaban, the veteran communications advisor at the palace, had also made efforts to distance the young and talented competitor.
A group of Syrian officers loyal to the president at the palace worked to distance young officers from al-Shibl's influence. Each of these young officers is now undergoing investigations and faces lengthy detentions and military trials as part of the information-gathering network managed by the senior advisor.
The first ominous sign came with Mulham's arrest. Shortly after, al-Shibl's husband, Dr. Ammar Sa'ati, lost his position as a professor at Damascus University. He was also arrested, interrogated, and placed under house arrest, thwarting his plans to fly to Sochi.
Luna al-Shibl and her husband are on the U.S. and U.K. blacklists, accused of transferring millions of dollars to overseas accounts as representatives of the Assad family. Her major troubles began only last month when Iranians in Syria started secretly surveilling her.
The only Druze at Assad’s palace
Al-Shibl, the only Druze at the presidential palace, believed that the security provided by President Assad, due to their close ties, would protect her life. However, Hezbollah operatives in Syria, along with senior Iranian officers, began fabricating charges against the presidential advisor. They accused her of passing classified intelligence to senior Russian intelligence officials and a senior Russian intelligence representative in Syria. This information reportedly concerned the locations of weapon and ammunition depots and preparations for Iranian military operations from within Syria.
Mulham, who secured his position in the presidential guard thanks to his sister, is suspected of passing intelligence to Israeli agents. He has been questioned and placed under house arrest pending a decision on his fate.
Al-Shibl's husband was arrested a few days before his planned departure to Russia, charged with embezzlement and accepting bribes. It was only when it became known that al-Shibl was critically injured in the accident that it was revealed her husband could not reach the hospital due to his house arrest.
At the Iranians' request, four senior officers at the presidential palace were arrested and are being interrogated by a senior Revolutionary Guards officer who arrived secretly in Syria.
A high-ranking Syrian official, who managed to leave for a European country last month, told Ynet, "Luna al-Shibl enjoyed a special status, was known for her intelligence and was loyal to Bashar al-Assad. Her troubles only began last month when Hezbollah, followed by the Iranians, targeted her, and rightly so, from their perspective. It was clear the situation would end in disaster."
The Syrian official predicts that al-Shibl's brother and husband will soon disappear, following the usual Syrian method. "One might be executed while the other is imprisoned, or they might both suffer a 'sudden planned accident,'" he said.
For four days, from Tuesday to Friday, al-Shibl was hospitalized at Al-Shami Hospital, a facility reserved for the Syrian elite. No one from the Syrian president's office visited her bedside.
Al-Shibl was not buried in her hometown of Sweida, the Druze stronghold, fearing angry protests from the residents. The presidential palace issued a mourning notice saying she died in a "car accident" and limited the condolence period to just two hours.