U.S. Judge Sentences Former Assad Prison Chief to 60 Years in Torture Case
WASHINGTON, Sept 17 (Reuters) — A former Syrian government official who headed the Damascus Central Prison under ousted President Bashar al-Assad has been sentenced to 60 years in prison by a U.S. judge after a federal jury convicted him of torture, federal prosecutors said.
Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 74, was charged in 2024 and convicted in March on three counts of torture and one count of conspiracy to commit torture for his role in the abuse of prisoners at Adra Prison in Damascus. U.S. District Judge Hernan Vera handed down the sentence in Los Angeles.
Prosecutors said Alsheikh ordered subordinates to inflict physical and mental pain on prisoners to deter opposition to Assad’s government and was sometimes personally involved in such incidents. The Justice Department also said he was convicted of lying to U.S. immigration authorities about those crimes, fraudulently obtaining a green card and attempting to naturalize as a U.S. citizen.
The Justice Department described Alsheikh, who held positions in Syria’s state security apparatus, as the highest-ranking former member of Assad’s government to be tried and convicted in person outside Syria so far.
His legal team had asked for a five-year sentence and said in March they were “disappointed” by his conviction. Alsheikh, who headed Adra Prison from 2005 to 2008, had previously pleaded not guilty.
Khaled Abdul Malek, a witness in the case who was detained and tortured at Adra prison, said in a written statement shared with reporters that the sentencing showed that “even when justice is delayed, it will always come.”
“This trial is not the end, but the first step on the road toward accountability and justice for everyone whose hands have been stained with the blood of innocent people,” he said.
The case is unfolding against the backdrop of Syria’s volatile post-Assad transition. Syrian rebels ended more than 50 years of Assad family rule in late 2024 after a lightning advance. Hundreds of thousands died in a civil war that lasted more than a decade, unleashed a global refugee crisis and left cities across the country in ruins.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al Qaeda commander, took over after Assad’s ouster and has worked to improve ties with the West. Last month, a Syrian court sentenced Assad, who resides in Russia, to death in absentia after convicting him of crimes including killings, torture and arbitrary arrest during the country’s war.
While the U.S. sentence may not resolve the broader demand for accountability in Syria, it marks a rare criminal reckoning outside the country for abuses committed during Assad’s rule. The case could strengthen efforts by prosecutors elsewhere to pursue former officials accused of torture and other serious crimes, even as such cases often confront evidence, jurisdiction and diplomatic obstacles.
Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington. Additional reporting by Feras Dalatey in Damascus. Editing by Peter Graff.