Former Assad Prison Official Convicted

A federal jury, on March 16, convicted Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 73, on one count of conspiracy to commit torture and three counts of torture for his involvement in the torture of prisoners at Adra Prison in Damascus, Syria. The jury also convicted Alsheikh of lying to U.S. immigration authorities about his commission of these crimes, fraudulently obtaining a green card and attempting to naturalize as a U.S. citizen.

“Samir Ousman Alsheikh tortured prisoners and committed human atrocities to punish and silence political dissent in Syria,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva for the Justice Department's Criminal Division. “Then, after committing these heinous offenses for years, he lied to U.S. immigration authorities to live in the United States of America and pursue citizenship. Thanks to the courage of the victims, and the diligence and dedication of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners, Alsheikh can no longer escape his past and will be held to account for his brutal crimes.”

According to the evidence presented at trial, Alsheikh was a Brigadier General in charge of Damascus Central Prison, commonly known as Adra Prison, from about 2005 through 2008, under the regime of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. The evidence showed that Alsheikh inflicted and ordered subordinates to inflict severe physical and mental pain and suffering on prisoners.

Victims who refused to harm or kill political dissidents imprisoned with them or who otherwise showed support for the prisoners testified at trial that they witnessed and suffered various forms of torture. For example, guards used manacles to suspend prisoners by their wrists from pipes on the ceiling and then beat them with fists or cables while suspended for extended periods of time. One victim testified that he felt like his limbs would be torn from his body when they suspended him for days.

Alsheikh came to the United States in 2020, after lying about and concealing the torture and violence he ordered and committed at the prison, among other misrepresentations, on his visa application to enter the United States and to become a legal permanent resident. It was further proved that Alsheikh continued to lie about and conceal his past conduct in his later application to become a United States citizen.

Alsheikh faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the three torture counts and the count of conspiracy to commit torture; he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each of the immigration and attempted naturalization fraud charges Guidelines and other statutory factors.

As U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California noted, “Our country is not a refuge for criminals — especially criminals who engage in brutality of the kind this defendant inflicted on his victims.”