Assad's prison chief charged with torture in US after visa fraud arrest

A blood-stained rope lies on the floor in the infamous Sednaya prison, just north of Damascus, Syria, December 9, 2024. (Photo/AP)

A former Bashar al Assad regime official in Syria who oversaw a prison where alleged human rights abuses took place has been charged with several counts of torture after being arrested in July for visa fraud charges, authorities said.

Samir Ousman al Sheikh, who oversaw Syria's infamous Adra Prison from 2005 to 2008 under recently ousted Assad, was charged on Thursday by a federal grand jury with several counts of torture and conspiracy to commit torture.

Federal officials detained the 72-year-old in July at Los Angeles International Airport on charges of immigration fraud, specifically that he denied on his US visa and citizenship applications that he had ever persecuted anyone in Syria, according to a criminal complaint.

He had purchased a one-way plane ticket to depart LAX on July 10, en route to Beirut, Lebanon.

Human rights groups and United Nations officials have accused the Assad regime of widespread abuses in its detention facilities, including torture and arbitrary detention of thousands of people, in many cases without informing their families.

The regime fell to a sudden rebel offensive last Sunday, putting an end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family and sending the former ruler fleeing to Russia. Opposition groups have freed tens of thousands of prisoners from facilities in multiple cities since then.

In his role as the head of Adra Prison, Sheikh allegedly ordered subordinates to inflict and was directly involved in inflicting severe physical and mental pain on prisoners.

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Source: TRT