After Luna Al-Shibl, the media advisor to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, was transferred to intensive care in a hospital in Damascus following a car accident, images circulated on Facebook claiming to show her in a hospital bed. What is the truth?
In the published image, a woman is seen in a white bed, with accompanying comments stating: "A picture of advisor Luna Al-Shibl lying in intensive care." However, the truth is that the image was published in 2020 and belongs to an Egyptian artist who suffered a respiratory crisis at that time, as reported by Agence France-Presse. The image was shared on Egyptian and Arab news sites, and it is said to show Egyptian actress and singer Bushra.
It is noteworthy that this image appeared the day after the Syrian presidency announced on July 2 that Luna Al-Shibl, the media advisor and head of the media and communication office at the presidency, had been involved in a car accident on one of the roads leading to Damascus. The presidency added that the accident caused the vehicle she was in to veer off course, leading to multiple impacts that resulted in severe injuries, including a head injury that required her to be placed in intensive care for treatment.
Local journalists reported on Al-Shibl's critical condition due to the accident without providing any additional details. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, this incident follows the arrest of Luna Al-Shibl's brother, Major Muhannad Al-Shibl, for questioning.
Luna Al-Shibl is a Syrian media figure born in Sweida in 1975. She has held the position of "Special Advisor at the Syrian Presidency" since November 2020. Al-Shibl holds a master's degree in journalism and media, having worked initially with Syrian television and then with Al-Jazeera until 2010. Later, she appeared as a member of the delegation representing the Syrian government at the Geneva II Conference in January 2014. In November 2020, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad appointed her as a special advisor at the presidency. It's also worth noting that Luna Al-Shibl is among those sanctioned by the United States in connection with Syria.
On a personal level, Luna Al-Shibl was married to Lebanese media personality Sami Kleib and after their divorce, she married Amr Sahati, the President of the National Union of Syrian Students and a member of the People’s Assembly.
