HIDING IN USA -Former Assad-era prison chief convicted of torture in US fed-court, marking a historic first; lied in hope of obtaining USA citizenship

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Former Assad-era prison chief convicted of torture in US federal court, marking a historic first

Samir Ousman Alsheikh, a former Syrian prison chief, was found guilty of torture and immigration fraud charges, becoming the first Assad-era official convicted in a U.S. court.

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Former Assad-era prison chief convicted of torture in US federal court, marking a historic first​

Samir Ousman Alsheikh was in charge of Adra Prison from 2005-2008​

By Ashley Carnahan Fox News

Published March 18, 2026 3:04pm EDT

A former Syrian prison official was convicted by a U.S. federal jury in Los Angeles Monday on torture and immigration fraud charges after prosecutors said he oversaw and at times personally carried out brutal abuses against detainees under the now-ousted regime of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Samir Ousman Alsheikh, a former brigadier general who once headed Damascus Central Prison, also known as Adra Prison, was found guilty after a nine-day trial of conspiracy to commit torture, immigration-related fraud offenses and three counts of torture, according to the Justice Department.

The case marks a historic step toward accountability, with Alsheikh becoming the first Assad-era official to be tried and convicted in a U.S. federal court.


Prosecutors said the 73-year-old ordered and oversaw the torture of political prisoners between 2005 and 2008, including beatings, suspension from ceilings and the use of devices such as the so-called "Magic Carpet," which folded victims’ bodies to inflict extreme pain.

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A handout photo shows former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, right, and Samir Ousman Alsheikh on or about July 25, 2011, when Assad appointed Alsheikh as governor of Deir ez-Zor. (U.S. Department of Justice)
He entered the United States in 2020 after lying about his past on his visa application and later attempted to become a U.S. citizen, authorities said.

Alsheikh, who was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport in 2024 as he attempted to board a one-way flight to Beirut, faces up to 20 years in prison for each torture-related count when he is sentenced at a later date.

"Samir Ousman Alsheikh ordered, directed, and directly participated in heinous acts of torture designed to inflict excruciating mental and physical pain with the goal of punishing and silencing political dissent," said Tysen Duva, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s criminal division in a statement.

"For many years, he evaded responsibility for his crimes in Syria, including by lying to U.S. immigration authorities in order to reside in the U.S. with the hope of obtaining citizenship. Thanks to the courage and perseverance of the victims and the dedication of Department of Justice prosecutors, along with their law enforcement partners, justice has prevailed, and Alsheikh can no longer run from his past."

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A torn portrait of Bashar al-Assad inside the Presidential Palace Dec. 10, 2024, in Damascus, Syria. (Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images)

According to a federal criminal complaint filed in July 2024, Alsheikh was an associate of Maher al-Assad, the younger brother of Bashar al-Assad, who led the Syrian military's elite Fourth Division.

He was appointed by Assad in 2011 as governor of Deir ez-Zor after anti-government protests that spread across the country during the Arab Spring.

The Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), a Washington-based advocacy group, assisted investigators in bringing the former regime official to justice. The organization first identified Alsheikh in Los Angeles through a tip and conducted its own verification using open-source material and leaked Syrian government data.

It then alerted U.S. authorities and worked with the FBI and Justice Department to help build the case, including connecting investigators with key witnesses who testified about abuses at Adra Prison. According to SETF, it pushed for torture charges rather than solely immigration violations to ensure broader accountability.

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Syrian lawmaker and opposition activist Mamoun al-Homsi is pictured at his office in Damascus Aug. 7, 2001. (Khaled Al-Hariri/Reuters)
Mamoun al-Homsi, a former independent member of the Syrian Parliament, was arrested in 2001 for demanding democratic reforms and spent five years in Adra Prison. He told Fox News Digital in an interview, through a translator, that Alsheikh stood out from other prison directors for his brutality.

Al-Homsi said that while previous prison heads largely adhered to prison rules and did not target detainees for their political views, Alsheikh's arrival in 2005 marked a shift.


"The toughest torture for me wasn't anything done to me physically as much as it was what was done to others on my behalf," said al-Homsi.

SETF Executive Director Mouaz Moustafa, who attended the trial, told Fox News Digital that testimony revealed Alsheikh ordered another prisoner, Khaled Abdul Malek, to poison al-Homsi.

Police stand at the gate of Damascus Central Prison in the Adra area near the Syrian capital of Damascus May 28, 2010. (Khaled al-Hariri/Reuters)
"Khaled Abdul Malek had come so close to Mamoun al-Homsi, so he told him about this plan and told him don't eat anything from anyone to the point where Mamoun al-Homsi would go to the trash if there was any and wash whatever is left," Moustafa said.

Malek refused Alsheikh’s demand to poison the prominent political figure, leading to him being placed in Wing 13, a notorious part of the prison where people were tortured.

"Khaled Malik then had his back broken," Moustafa said, adding that he arrived in court with a cane and could barely walk.

Al-Homsi said he survived on olive pits and lost more than 60 pounds. He was released in 2006 and later fled to Canada.

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An aerial view of Adra Prison, located on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria. (Google Earth/Fox News Digital Ashley Carnahan)

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The former parliament member told Fox News Digital the verdict sends a message that former regime officials cannot evade accountability, even if they leave Syria and attempt to rebuild their lives abroad.

Al-Homsi called the verdict a signal that justice, though long delayed, is finally taking hold, an outcome he described as essential for the future of a free Syria.

 

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https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/former-assad-era-syrian-prison-chief-and-governor-found-guilty-torturing-inmates-then

Former Assad-Era Syrian Prison Chief and Governor Found Guilty of Torturing Inmates then Lying About It to U.S. Immigration Officials​

LOS ANGELES – A former Syrian government official who was the head of one of that nation’s major prisons was found guilty by a jury today of torturing Syrian inmates at Adra Prison in Damascus then later lying about it to United States immigration officials, fraudulently obtaining a green card and attempting to naturalize as a U.S. citizen.

Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 73, formerly of Lexington, South Carolina, but who has been in federal custody in Los Angeles since July 2024, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit torture, three counts of torture, one count of fraud in the possession and use of an immigration document, and one count of attempted naturalization fraud.

“Our country is not a refuge for criminals – especially criminals who engage in the brutality of the kind this defendant inflicted on his victims,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “I commend the victims, our agents, and our prosecutors for finally bringing this defendant to justice.”

“Samir Ousman Alsheikh ordered, directed, and directly participated in heinous acts of torture designed to inflict excruciating mental and physical pain with the goal of punishing and silencing political dissent,” said Tysen Duva, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “For many years, he evaded responsibility for his crimes in Syria, including by lying to U.S. immigration authorities in order to reside in the U.S. with the hope of obtaining citizenship. Thanks to the courage and perseverance of the victims and the dedication of Department of Justice prosecutors, along with their law enforcement partners, justice has prevailed and Alsheikh can no longer run from his past.”

“Homeland Security Investigations and our partners are dedicated to bringing accountability to criminals like Samir Ousman Alsheikh, who tortured prisoners and then relocated to the United States,” said HSI Los Angeles Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang. “Our Homeland will never serve as a sanctuary for human rights abusers.”

“Today’s convictions serve as a reminder that the FBI will not tolerate acts of violence and torture or attempts to obfuscate those crimes,” said Assistant Director Heith Janke of the FBI’s Criminal Division. “Along with our partners in the United States and throughout the world, we remain committed to defending victims and bringing perpetrators to justice.”

According to evidence presented at a nine-day trial, Alsheikh was a brigadier general in charge of Damascus Central Prison, commonly known as Adra Prison, from about 2005 through 2008, under the regime of then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Alsheikh inflicted and ordered subordinates to inflict severe physical and mental pain and suffering on prisoners. In particular, Alsheikh ordered certain prisoners to be sent to a section of the prison known as Wing 13, where they were held in tiny isolation cells and tortured.

Victims who refused to harm or kill political dissidents imprisoned with them or who otherwise showed support for the prisoners testified at trial that they witnessed and suffered various forms of torture. For example, guards used manacles to suspend prisoners by their wrists from pipes on the ceiling and then beat them with fists or cables while suspended for extended periods of time. One victim testified that he felt like his limbs would be torn from his body when they suspended him for days.

Witnesses also testified that they were placed on a torture device known as the “Magic Carpet” or “Flying Carpet,” which consisted of two large wooden panels with hinges in the middle. Guards strapped the witnesses to the device on their backs, positioning the prisoners’ waists at the hinges, and then forcing the lower panel together with the upper, folding the upper and lower halves of the prisoners’ bodies together and causing excruciating pain and serious injury.

One victim recalled that Alsheikh himself stomped on the Magic Carpet with his foot. One victim testified that as part of his punishment for writing a letter of support to a political prisoner, he was subjected to the Magic Carpet and then forced to wear a red jumpsuit solely assigned to those designated for execution. He testified that he thought he was going to die. Witnesses also testified to being folded into a car tire, restrained, and beaten by guards.

Alsheikh personally ordered these and other horrific acts of torture and brutality against the three named victims in the indictment. Following his time at Adra Prison, Alsheikh was appointed governor of the Syrian province of Deir Ez-Zour in 2011. In 2018, he applied for a visa and later applied to become a U.S. citizen.

Alsheikh came to the United States in 2020, after lying about and concealing the torture and violence he ordered and committed at the prison, among other misrepresentations, on his visa application to enter the United States and to become a legal permanent resident. Alsheikh continued to lie about and conceal his past conduct in his later application to become a United States citizen.

United States District Judge Hernán D. Vera will schedule a sentencing hearing for a later date, at which time Alsheikh will face up to 20 years in federal prison for the conspiracy to commit torture charge, up to 20 years in federal prison for each torture charge, and up to 10 years in federal prison for each immigration fraud-related charge.

HSI Los Angeles and FBI Chicago investigated the case with support from HSI and FBI legal attachés in Germany. HSI’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC) also significantly supported the case, along with the FBI’s International Human Rights Unit (IHRU). Established in 2009, the HRVWCC furthers the government’s efforts to identify, locate, and prosecute human rights abusers in the United States, including those who are known or suspected to have participated in persecution, war crimes, genocide, torture, extrajudicial killings, female genital mutilation, and the use or recruitment of child soldiers. Valuable assistance was also provided by the Federal Criminal Police Office in Germany.

Assistant United States Attorney Joshua O. Mausner of the National Security Division and Justice Department Trial Attorneys Patrick Jasperse of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) are prosecuting this case with significant assistance from HRSP Historian/Analyst Philip Hoffman and HRSP Trial Attorney Alexandra Skinnion, and support from HRSP Trial Attorney Detailee Spencer M. Perry. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided critical assistance.

Members of the public who have information about former human rights violators in the United States are urged to contact U.S. law enforcement through the HSI tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE (1-866-347-2423) or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. They can also email HRV.ICE@ice.dhs.gov or complete its online tip form at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp

Contact
Ciaran McEvoy
Public Information Officer
ciaran.mcevoy@usdoj.gov
(213) 894-4465

Updated March 16, 2026