US charges ex-head of Syrian prison with torture

The former head of a notorious Syrian prison was indicted in the United States on Thursday for torturing opponents of the now-defunct government of Bashar al-Assad, the Justice Department said. 72-year-old Samir Usman Al-Sheikh, who has been in the United States since 2020. Damascus Central Prison – colloquially known as Adra Prison – operated from around 2005 to 2008, where prisoners were subjected to horrific abuse in the “punishment wing”.. The accusations come days after Assad fled the country after his regime fell, and as millions of Syrians begin to reckon with decades of oppression. Al-Sheikh personally inflicted severe physical and mental torture. U.S. prosecutors said he ordered his staff to carry out such acts, along with inflicting pain on detainees. According to al-Sheikh, prisoners were beaten while hanging from the ceiling, or were subjected to a device known as a “flying carpet,” which folded their bodies in half at the waist, causing excruciating pain and sometimes severing of the spine.” We He is one step closer to being held accountable for these heinous crimes. America will never be a safe haven for those who commit human rights abuses abroad,” Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles said.said Field Office Special Agent, Eddie Wang. He was arrested at the Los Angeles airport in July on charges of immigration fraud. 20 years for each torture charge. Al-Sheikh has held various positions in the Syrian police and the Syrian state security apparatus, the Justice Department said. He was also affiliated with the country’s ruling Syrian Baath Party, and was appointed. Governor of Deir Ezzor province by Assad in 2011.He moved to the US in 2020 and applied for citizenship in 2023. A mild civil war broke out in Syria at the end of last month, led by Islamist Hayat Tahrir al. Syria (HTS) group and its allies. After making a run at several major cities, the rebels quickly won. Damascus, sending Assad fleeing to Russia and abruptly ending five decades of oppressive rule by his clan.