US officials arrest former Syrian prison chief for crimes in his home country

(CLO) US authorities said Thursday that a former notorious Syrian prison director was arrested in California in July this year on visa fraud and other charges in his home country.

Samir Ousman al-Sheikh, who ran Syria's notorious Adra Prison from 2005 to 2008 under President Bashar Assad, has been indicted by a US jury on multiple counts of "torture and conspiracy to commit torture."

Al-Sheikh's lawyer, Nina Marino, denied the charges, calling them a "misuse" of US Justice Department resources to "prosecute a foreign national for alleged wrongdoing committed abroad against non-US citizens".

Illustration: GI

The US government also accused two Syrian officials of running a prison and detention center at Mezzeh Air Base in Damascus. The indictment said al-Sheikh immigrated to the US in 2020 and applied for citizenship in 2023.

Earlier in May, a French court sentenced three senior Syrian officials to life in prison in absentia for alleged crimes under the regime of ousted President Assad, the first such case in Europe.

If convicted, al-Sheikh could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison in the United States for conspiracy to commit torture and each count of torture, plus a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each count of immigration fraud.

Ngoc Anh (according to AP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/gioi-chuc-my-bat-cuu-giam-doc-nha-tu-syria-vi-nhung-toi-danh-o-que-nha-post325448.html