US grand jury charges former Syrian prison official with torture
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Police stand at the gate of Damascus Central Prison in the Adra area near the Syrian capital of Damascus in 2010.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON - A federal grand jury in Los Angeles charged a former Syrian government official who headed the Damascus Central Prison from 2005 to 2008 with torture, the United States Justice Department said on Dec 12.
Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 72, headed the Adra prison – as it was colloquially known during that period – and allegedly ordered subordinates to inflict severe physical and mental pain and suffering on political and other prisoners, the department said.
He was sometimes personally involved in such incidents, the department added in its statement.
Reuters could not immediately contact Alsheikh to seek comment.
The torture aimed to deter opposition to the regime of now-ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad
Alsheikh, who allegedly held positions in the Syrian police and the state security apparatus, was associated with the ruling Syrian Ba’ath Party, and was appointed governor of the province of Deir Ez-Zour by Mr Assad in 2011.
A superseding indictment returned on Dec 12 alleged that Alsheikh immigrated to the US in 2020 and applied for citizenship in 2023.
The indictment added three counts of torture and one count of conspiracy to commit torture to charges of visa fraud and attempted naturalisation fraud that figured in an initial indictment against Alsheikh in August.
In a separate US indictment unsealed on Dec 9, two former high-ranking Syrian intelligence officials under Mr Assad were charged with war crimes.
These included conspiracy to mete out cruel and inhuman treatment to civilian detainees, including US citizens, during the Syrian civil war that began in 2011.
Syrian rebels put an end to more than 50 years of rule by the Assad family over the weekend following a lightning advance.
The 13-year civil war killed hundreds of thousands, unleashed a refugee crisis and left cities bombed to rubble, the countryside depopulated and the Syrian economy hollowed out by global sanctions. REUTERS
