Samir Ousman al-Sheikh, 72, is also accused of lying to immigration officials about his time as the prison’s director.
The former director of a prison in Damascus, Syria, has been charged with torture in the United States.
Published by the US Department of Justice bulletin according to 72 years old Samir Ousman al-Sheikh ran the Damascus Central Prison, known as Adra Prison, from 2005 to 2008. The operation of the prison in question ceased at the beginning of the month, when Bashar al-Assad the regime fell.
According to the indictment, al-Seikh ordered his subordinates to inflict severe physical and mental pain on the prison’s inmates. It was alleged that he sometimes also personally participated in the said torture activity.
In addition to the four counts of torture, al-Seikh was already charged previously charges of two counts of immigration fraud. Al-Seikhin is accused of lying to authorities about his time as a prison director when applying for a visa and citizenship
Al-Seikh arrived in the United States in 2020 and applied for citizenship last year.