"She was very much, as we would say, left wing. She [created] a very, very good impression. She seemed to be very bright, very respectful of others," said Gaia Servadio, a writer and historian who has worked with Asma on several art projects.

"It's a very nasty regime... Thousands of people have been killed. So it's very difficult to say: poor woman. She certainly should have found a way to talk."