FORMER SYRIAN PRISON CHIEF GETS 60-YEAR US SENTENCE FOR TORTURE

A United States federal judge has sentenced a former head of a notorious Syrian prison, Samir Ousman Alsheikh, to 60 years in prison for torture and immigration fraud. The 74-year-old was sentenced on Thursday after being convicted earlier this year over his role in abuses committed at Damascus Central Prison, also known as Adra Prison.

Alsheikh, who has lived in the United States since 2020, was accused of running the prison from about 2005 to 2008 during the rule of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Prosecutors said detainees were subjected to severe abuse in a section known as the “Punishment Wing,” where prisoners were allegedly tortured. Three former prisoners testified during his trial about the abuse they personally experienced and the treatment of other detainees.

A jury found Alsheikh guilty in March on six charges, including one count of conspiracy to commit torture, three counts of torture, visa fraud and attempted naturalisation fraud. The immigration-related convictions stemmed from allegations that he concealed or lied about his past in order to gain entry to the United States in 2020 and later pursue citizenship.

Following the sentencing, Assistant US Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said the conviction reflected the courage of the victims who testified against Alsheikh. Duva also said the case demonstrated that people accused of serious human rights violations could be prosecuted if they sought refuge in the United States. The sentence combines the punishment for the torture-related offences with the immigration fraud convictions.

The case comes amid renewed attention to abuses committed in Syria's prisons following the collapse of Assad's government in late 2024. After the government fell, Syrians went to prisons across the country in search of relatives who had disappeared during years of conflict and detention. Alsheikh's conviction and sentence mark one of the US prosecutions targeting a former Syrian official over alleged abuses committed during the Assad era.