LOS ANGELES — A former Syrian prison chief was sentenced Thursday to 60 years in federal prison for torturing inmates and concealing his crimes to obtain a U.S. green card and seek citizenship.
Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 74, formerly of Lexington, South Carolina, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Hernán D. Vera. The judge will schedule a separate hearing to determine restitution for the victims.
“The conduct was heinous, unimaginably cruel, and almost unspeakably violent and brutal,” Vera said before
imposing the sentence, according to an Associated Press account of the hearing.
A federal jury convicted Alsheikh in March of conspiracy to commit torture, three counts of torture, visa fraud and attempted naturalization fraud. His attorneys said they plan to appeal the sentence.
Alsheikh’s Ran Adra Prison
Alsheikh was a brigadier general who ran Damascus Central Prison, commonly known as Adra Prison, from about 2005 to 2008 under the government of then-President Bashar Assad. The Justice Department described him as the highest-ranking former member of the Assad government to be tried and convicted in person outside Syria.
Trial evidence showed that Alsheikh ordered prisoners sent to Wing 13, an underground punishment section where inmates were confined in tiny isolation cells and tortured.
Three victims testified that guards suspended prisoners by their wrists from ceiling pipes, sometimes for days, and beat them with fists and cables. Other inmates were folded inside tires, restrained and beaten.
“The Flying Carpet” Device
Prisoners also were strapped to a hinged wooden torture device known as the “Flying Carpet” or “Magic Carpet.” The device forcibly folded victims’ bodies at the waist, causing severe pain and injuries.
One victim testified that Alsheikh personally stomped on the device while the prisoner was strapped to it. Another said he was tortured for writing a letter supporting a political prisoner and then forced to wear a red jumpsuit reserved for inmates marked for execution.
“Human rights violators who come to the United States will receive no safe harbor here,” Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said.
After leaving Adra Prison, Alsheikh became governor of Syria’s Deir ez-Zor province in 2011. He applied for a U.S. visa in 2018 and entered the country in 2020.
Alshekh’s 2023 Application for U.S. Citizenship
Prosecutors said Alsheikh concealed his involvement in torture when he applied for the visa and a green card. He continued concealing his past in a 2023 application for U.S. citizenship.
Federal authorities arrested him at Los Angeles International Airport in July 2024. He has remained in custody since then.
The prosecution was handled by the Justice Department’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles. Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI investigated the case with assistance from German authorities.
Quick Fact Checklist
🟥 Defendant: Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 74
🟥 Sentence: 60 years in federal prison
🟥 Position: Former chief of Syria’s Adra Prison
🟥 Prison tenure: Approximately 2005 to 2008
🟥 Convictions: Conspiracy, three torture counts and two immigration-fraud offenses
🟥 Methods described: Suspension, beatings, tire restraint and the “Flying Carpet” device
🟥 U.S. entry: 2020
🟥 Arrested: July 2024 at Los Angeles International Airport
🟥 Restitution: To be determined at a later hearing
🟥 Appeal: Defense attorneys said they plan to appeal