US Court Jails Former Syrian Prison Chief for Torture, Immigration Fraud

A US federal judge has sentenced former Syrian prison chief Samir Ousman Alsheikh to 60 years in prison after he was convicted of torture and immigration fraud, according to the US Department of Justice. Alsheikh, 74, who has lived in the United States since 2020, was accused of running Damascus Central Prison, also known as Adra Prison, between approximately 2005 and 2008. Prosecutors said detainees held in the facility’s so-called “Punishment Wing” were subjected to severe abuse. A jury convicted Alsheikh in March on one count of conspiracy to commit torture, three counts of torture, one count of visa fraud and one count of attempted naturalisation fraud. Three former prisoners testified during the trial, describing abuse they said they experienced at the prison and detailing the alleged torture of other detainees. Assistant US Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said the conviction reflected the courage of the victims who came forward to testify.

The torture case was accompanied by immigration fraud charges stemming from Alsheikh’s entry into the United States in 2020. Prosecutors said he lied about his past in order to gain admission to the country and later sought naturalisation using false information. Duva said the sentence sends a message that individuals accused of human rights violations cannot expect to find protection in the United States and that authorities would pursue and prosecute them. Alsheikh’s case comes against the backdrop of major political upheaval in Syria, where a coalition led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its allies overthrew Bashar al-Assad’s government in late 2024. Following the collapse of the government, Syrians reportedly went to prisons across the country searching for relatives who had disappeared.

#UTVAfrica#