Assad-era Syrian official convicted of torture, jailed for 60 years by US court

Samir Ousman Alsheikh, a 74-year-old former Syrian official who headed Damascus Central Prison (Adra Prison) under Bashar al-Assad from 2005 to 2008, has been sentenced to 60 years in a US federal prison. A US jury convicted Alsheikh in March 2024 on one count of conspiracy to commit torture and three counts of torture for his involvement in prisoner abuse, as well as lying to US immigration authorities to obtain a green card and attempt naturalization. Prosecutors stated that Alsheikh ordered and sometimes participated in inflicting physical and mental pain on prisoners to suppress opposition to Assad's government. The US Justice Department noted that Alsheikh is the highest-ranking former member of Assad's government to be tried and convicted in person outside Syria. His legal team had sought a five-year sentence.