Syrian illegal immigrant indicted on torture charges for alleged role in Assad regime | Law Enforcement Today

LEXINGTON, SC- A Syrian national living in the United States illegally is facing federal criminal charges related to what prosecutors say was his role as a prison official in the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 72, was charged with three counts of torture and one count of conspiracy to commit torture by the Department of Justice. Alsheikh was also charged with visa fraud and attempted naturalization fraud charges in August.

Authorities accuse Alsheikh of ordering and participating in torture at the Damascus Central Prison, which he allegedly headed from 2005 to 2008, years before Syria was enveloped in a bloody and sectarian civil war. Prosecutors describe a torture method used against political prisoners known as the "flying carpet-" in which detainees were suspended from ceilings with their bodies folded at the waist, leading to severe spinal injuries.

The federal government alleges that Alsheikh lied about his participation in torture on behalf of the Ba'ath regime, making his legal status in the United States null and void. Alsheikh allegedly went on to serve as the governor of Deir Ez-Zour province in Assad's government, before fleeing the country for the United States in 2020 and applying for citizenship three years later.

"Alsheikh later allegedly lied about his crimes to obtain a U.S. green card. The victims of such violent treatment continue to suffer long after the physical acts of torture have ceased. The Justice Department is committed to prosecuting perpetrators of such crimes and will not allow them, through lies and concealment, to hide in the United States," Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri said of the accused.

It's unclear if the new criminal charges against Alsheikh are related to the downfall of Assad as the leader of Syria. The longtime dictator fled the country as Islamist rebel groups captured the cities of Homs and Damascus earlier this month, making his continued presence untenable after roughly twelve years of armed conflict.

Those who opposed Assad's rule accused the dictatorial leader of the indiscriminate killing of non-combatants during the bloody civil war, and of ruling through an authoritarian cult of personality. Evidence of mass killings and other crimes has surfaced after the fall of the Assad regime, with thousands of Syrians detained indefinitely in the nation's dismal Sednaya Prison.

Others, who backed the now-deposed leader, described Assad as the only leader who could hold Syria together as a united country, and a defender of Syria's minority Christian and Alawite communities against Islamist extremist rebels. Assad, who ruled Syria since 2000 after his father Hafez al-Assad, fled to Russia and sought asylum after the downfall of his regime.

Alsheikh could face as many as one hundred years in prison if convicted on all charges. An attorney for Alsheikh has expressed his strong denial of the allegations, calling the prosecution politically motivated, according to the Associated Press.