Former head of Syrian prison sentenced to 60 years for torture
Samir Usman Al-Sheikh, who served as the director of Adra Prison during the regime of Bashar al-Assad, was found guilty of torturing prisoners and concealing his past from US immigration authorities.
Former head of Syrian prison sentenced to 60 years for torture
Brigadier General Samir Usman Al-Sheikh, 74, who served as the director of the Adra Central Prison in the Syrian capital Damascus during the Bashar al-Assad regime, has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for torturing prisoners and concealing his past from US immigration authorities. This was reported by the US Department of Justice.
According to the Department, Al-Sheikh, who headed the prison from 2005 to 2008, ordered the torture of political prisoners and personally participated in these acts. In March, a federal jury found him guilty of conspiracy to commit torture, three counts of torture, and fraud in processing immigration documents and applying for citizenship.
In court, three victims testified that prisoners were tied to a torture device known as the "flying carpet," suspended from the ceiling, and beaten, while some were sent to a place called "Block 13," where they were subjected to inhumane torture.
The Department of Justice noted that Al-Sheikh has become the highest-ranking former representative of the Assad regime to be convicted outside of Syria. He entered the United States in 2020 and was arrested in July 2024.