Former Syrian Official Convicted of Torture Under Assad Regime Faces Sentencing in US
Samir Ousman Alsheikh was found guilty over abuses at Adra Prison under Bashar Assad’s government, with prosecutors seeking an 80-year minimum sentence.
San Francisco, Sept 17: A former Syrian military official convicted in the United States of torturing prisoners during the rule of Bashar Assad is set to be sentenced by a federal court in Los Angeles, where prosecutors are seeking a prison term of at least 80 years.
Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 74, is scheduled to appear before US District Judge Hernan D. Vera on Thursday. A federal jury convicted him in March on one count of conspiracy to commit torture and three counts of torture related to his time overseeing Syria’s Adra Prison between approximately 2005 and 2008.
The case has drawn attention to allegations of widespread abuse in Syrian detention facilities during Assad’s rule. Human rights organisations and United Nations officials have previously documented allegations involving torture, arbitrary detention and the disappearance or detention of thousands of people.
US prosecutors alleged that Alsheikh participated in efforts to suppress political dissent while serving in a senior position at the prison. They said some detainees were transferred to an isolated section where they were confined in small cells and subjected to torture.
During the two week trial, three former detainees testified about the treatment they allegedly experienced. Their accounts included beatings while prisoners were suspended from pipes attached to the ceiling, as well as the use of a device designed to bend a person’s body sharply at the waist.
According to the US Department of Justice, one witness testified that Alsheikh stepped on the device while it was being used.
In a sentencing memorandum filed this month, federal prosecutors argued that Alsheikh understood the nature of his conduct but used his authority to order and participate in the mistreatment of detainees. Prosecutors asked the court to impose a minimum sentence of 80 years.
Several victims also provided statements for the sentencing proceedings. One survivor, Nidal Shikhani, described continuing memories of prisoners pleading for mercy during their detention.
Alsheikh’s lawyers, Nina Marino and Collin Cate, have urged the court to impose a five-year sentence. They pointed to his age and cited what they described as significant medical and cognitive conditions.
His attorneys have also said he is willing to be deported to Syria. The country’s new government has sought accountability for former members of the Assad administration following the change in power.
In a sentencing memorandum dated September 3, his lawyers argued that broader historical or political considerations should not determine the punishment and said the sentence should instead be based on the circumstances of the individual case.
Alsheikh arrived in the United States in 2020 and subsequently applied for citizenship. Prosecutors alleged that he concealed his involvement in torture from US immigration authorities.
Federal authorities arrested him at Los Angeles International Airport in July 2024.
The jury also found him guilty of making false statements to US immigration officials, fraudulently obtaining a green card and attempting to become a naturalised US citizen.
The sentencing will determine the punishment for the convictions and marks the latest stage in a US prosecution stemming from alleged abuses carried out during the Assad era.
