A former Syrian government official accused of torturing inmates was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison on Thursday by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 74, who served under former Syrian President Bashar Assad as brigadier general in charge of Adra Prison near Damascus from 2005 to 2008, was found guilty in March of torture and conspiracy to commit torture, as well as attempted naturalization fraud.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Alsheikh lied to immigration officials “to fraudulently obtain a green card and attempt to naturalize as a U.S. citizen.”
He “inflicted and ordered subordinates to inflict severe physical and mental pain and suffering on prisoners,” according to prosecutors. He also allegedly sent prisoners to Wing 13, a section of the prison where they were held in “tiny isolation cells and tortured.”
The Justice Department cited examples of Alsheikh ordering guards to use “manacles to suspend prisoners by their wrists from pipes on the ceiling” while beating them and of prisoners being placed on “Flying Carpet” torture tables.
In 2018, Alsheikh allegedly lied on his visa application to the United States. In 2020, he entered the country and became a Lawful Permanent Resident.
“If you engage in torture and come to the United States, the FBI and its partners are going to ensure that you face the consequences for your illegal disregard for human rights,” said Heith Janke, assistant director of the FBI Criminal Division.
“The acts Alsheikh ordered and directly participated in are gruesome and disturbing,” Janke said. “We would like to offer our gratitude to the brave victims who testified, leading to sentencing. We hope that they are able to find some solace in the fact that it will now be their former prison warden who is incarcerated.”
