London Bashar Al Assad took advice from Iran on how to handle the uprising against his rule, according to a cache of what appear to be several thousand emails received and sent by the Syrian leader and his wife.
The Syrian leader was also briefed in detail about the presence of western journalists in the Baba Amr district of Homs and urged to "tighten the security grip" on the opposition-held city in November.
The revelations are contained in more than 3,000 documents that activists say are emails downloaded from private accounts belonging to Al Assad and his wife Asma.
The messages, which have been obtained by the Guardian, are said to have been intercepted by members of the opposition Supreme Council of the Revolution group between June and early February.
The documents, which emerge on the first anniversary of the rebellion that has seen more than 8,000 Syrians killed, paint a portrait of a first family remarkably insulated from the mounting crisis and continuing to enjoy a luxurious lifestyle.
They appear to show the president's wife spending thousands of dollars over the internet for designer goods while he swaps entertaining internet links on his iPad and downloads music from iTunes.
As the world watched in horror at the brutal suppression of protests across the country and many Syrians faced food shortages and other hardships, Asma spent more than £10,000 (Dh57,618.50) on candlesticks, tables and chandeliers from Paris and instructed an aide to order a fondue set from Amazon.
The Guardian has made extensive efforts to authenticate the emails by checking their contents against established facts and contacting 10 individuals whose correspondence appears in the cache. These checks suggest the messages are genuine, but it has not been possible to verify every one.
Character emerges
The emails also appear to show that:
Al Assad established a network of trusted aides who reported directly to him through his "private" email account bypassing both his powerful clan and the country's security apparatus.
Al Assad made light of reforms he had promised in an attempt to defuse the crisis, referring to "rubbish laws of parties, elections, media".
A daughter of Qatar Emir Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, this year advised the Al Assads to leave Syria and suggested Doha may offer them exile.
Al Assad sidestepped extensive US sanctions against him by using a third party with a US address to make purchases of music and apps from Apple's iTunes.
The emails appear to show how Al Assad assembled a team of aides to advise him on media strategy and how to position himself in the face of increasing international criticism of his regime's crackdown on dissent.
The emails appear to show that Al Assad received advice from Iran or its proxies on several occasions during the crisis. Before a speech in December his media consultant prepared a long list of themes, reporting that the advice was based on "consultations with a good number of people in addition to the media and political adviser for the Iranian ambassador".
The memo advised the president to use "powerful and violent" language and to show appreciation for support from "friendly states". It also advised that the regime should "leak more information related to our military capability" to convince the public that it could withstand a military challenge.
The president also received advice from Hussain Mortada, an influential Lebanese businessman with strong connections to Iran. In December, Mortada urged Al Assad to stop blaming Al Qaida for an apparent twin car bombing in Damascus, which took place the day before an Arab League observer mission arrived in the country. He said he had been in contact with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon who shared his view.
"It is not out of our interest to say that Al Qaida is behind the operation because this claim will [indemnify] the US administration and Syrian opposition," Mortada wrote not long after the blasts. "I have received contacts from Iran and Hezbollah in my role as director of many Iranian-Lebanese channels and they directed me to not mention that Al Qaida is behind the operation. It is a blatant tactical media mistake."
In the loop
Among those who communicated with the president's account were Khalid Al Ahmad who, it is believed, was given the task of advising about Homs and Idlib. In November, Al Ahmad wrote to Al Assad urging him to "tighten the security grip to start [the] operation to restore state control in Idlib and Hama countryside".
He also advised Al Assad that he had been told European reporters had "entered the area by crossing the Lebanese borders illegally". In another mail he warned the president that "a tested source who met with leaders of groups in Baba Amr today said a big shipment of weapons coming from Libya will arrive to the shores of one of the neighbouring states within three days to be smuggled to Syria".
The emails offer a rare window into the mind of the isolated Syrian leader, apparently lurching between self-pity, defiance and flippancy as he swapped links to amusing video footage with his aides and wife.
Throughout 2011, his wife appears to have kept up regular correspondence with Qatar emir's daughter, Mayassa Al Thani. But relations appear to have chilled early this year when Mayassa directly suggested that the Syrian leader step down.
Qatar's offer
"My father regards President Bashar as a friend, despite the current tensions he always gave him genuine advice," she wrote on December 11. "The opportunity for real change and development was lost a long time ago. Nevertheless, one opportunity closes, others open up and I hope its not too late for reflection and coming out of the state of denial."
A second email on January 30 was more forthright and including a tacit offer of exile. "Just been following the latest developments in Syria in all honesty looking at the tide of history and the escalation of recent events we've seen two results leaders stepping down and getting political asylum or leaders being brutally attacked. I honestly think this is a good opportunity to leave and re-start a normal life. I only pray that you will convince the president to take this an opportunity to exit without having to face charges. The region needs to stabilise, but not more than you need peace of mind. I am sure you have many places to turn to, including Doha."
Domain: Leaks found in February
Members of the opposition Supreme Council of the Revolution group say they were passed username and password details believed to have been used by the couple by a mole in the president's inner circle. The email addresses used the domain name alshahba.com, a group of companies used by the regime. They say the details allowed uninterrupted access to the two inboxes until the leak was discovered in February.
Activists say they were able to monitor the inboxes of Al Assad and his wife in real time for several months. In several cases they claim to have used information to warn colleagues in Damascus of imminent regime moves against them.
The access continued until February 7, when a threatening email arrived in the inbox thought to be used by Al Assad after the account's existence was revealed when the Anonymous group separately hacked into a number of Syrian government email addresses. Correspondence to and from the two addresses ceased on the same day.
