FORMER ASSAD ERA PRISON CHIEF SENTENCED TO 60 YEARS IN US FOR TORTURE
Former Damascus Central Prison chief Samir Ousman Alsheikh has been sentenced to 60 years in a US federal prison after being convicted of torturing detainees under Bashar al Assad's government. Prosecutors said he later concealed his past while seeking US residency and citizenship.
A United States federal judge has sentenced former Syrian prison chief Samir Ousman Alsheikh to 60 years in prison after a jury convicted him of torturing detainees while he headed Damascus Central Prison under the government of former Syrian President Bashar al Assad.
US District Judge Hernán D Vera handed down the sentence in Los Angeles on Thursday, September 17. Alsheikh, 74, was convicted in March of one count of conspiracy to commit torture and three counts of torture. He was also convicted of immigration related offences after prosecutors said he concealed his past when seeking legal status and US citizenship.
The case is significant because the US Justice Department says Alsheikh is the highest ranking former member of the Assad government to have been tried and convicted in person outside Syria.
ABUSE AT DAMASCUS CENTRAL PRISON
Alsheikh was a brigadier general who headed Damascus Central Prison, commonly known as Adra Prison, from about 2005 until 2008.
According to evidence presented during his trial, Alsheikh ordered prisoners to be taken to Wing 13, where detainees were kept in small isolation cells and subjected to severe physical abuse.
Victims testified that prisoners were suspended by their wrists from pipes and beaten while hanging for extended periods.
Other testimony described the use of a torture device known as the Flying Carpet, which restrained prisoners before folding their bodies at the waist, causing extreme pain and injuries.
The Justice Department said evidence showed Alsheikh personally ordered acts of torture against the three victims named in the indictment and was directly involved in some of the abuse.
FROM SYRIAN OFFICIAL TO US RESIDENT
After leaving Adra Prison, Alsheikh was appointed governor of Syria's Deir Ez Zour province in 2011.
He later applied for a US visa and eventually moved to the United States in 2020.
Federal prosecutors said Alsheikh concealed his involvement in torture and violence when applying to enter the country and obtain permanent residency. He later continued concealing that history when he attempted to become a US citizen.
Federal authorities arrested him at Los Angeles International Airport in July 2024.
A jury convicted him in March 2026 of conspiracy to commit torture, three torture counts, fraud involving an immigration document and attempted naturalisation fraud.
PROSECUTORS SOUGHT EVEN LONGER SENTENCE
Federal prosecutors had requested a sentence of at least 80 years, arguing that Alsheikh knowingly participated in torture and believed he would never be held accountable.
His defence lawyers sought a five year sentence, citing his age and medical conditions and arguing that he was willing to be deported to Syria.
Judge Vera ultimately imposed a 60 year federal prison sentence.
RARE US TORTURE PROSECUTION
The prosecution represents an unusual use of US federal law to pursue alleged human rights abuses committed outside the United States.
Alsheikh is among only a small number of defendants prosecuted under the US federal torture statute for conduct committed abroad. His case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI, with assistance from German authorities and specialised US units responsible for pursuing human rights violators.
The sentence also comes as Syria continues to confront the legacy of abuses committed during more than five decades of Assad family rule, which ended when Bashar al Assad was ousted in December 2024.
