A former Syrian government official who headed one of the country’s notorious prisons has been sentenced to 60 years in federal prison in the United States for torturing detainees and later lying to U.S. immigration authorities.
Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 74, was sentenced on Thursday, September 17, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Hernán D. Vera in Los Angeles. The U.S. Department of Justice said Alsheikh was convicted of torture-related offences and immigration fraud.
Alsheikh headed Damascus Central Prison, also known as Adra Prison, from approximately 2005 to 2008 during the government of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
According to evidence presented at trial, prisoners were subjected to severe physical and psychological abuse, including torture in a section known as the “Punishment Wing.” Prosecutors alleged that Alsheikh ordered subordinates to torture prisoners and was personally involved in some of the abuse.
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A federal jury convicted Alsheikh in March 2026 of one count of conspiracy to commit torture, three counts of torture, one count of fraud involving an immigration document and one count of attempted naturalisation fraud.
Three former prisoners testified during the trial about the abuse they experienced and witnessed at Adra Prison.
The Justice Department said Alsheikh later concealed his past from U.S. immigration authorities after entering the United States in 2020. Prosecutors said he fraudulently obtained a green card and subsequently attempted to become a U.S. citizen.
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Assistant U.S. Attorney General A. Tysen Duva described the conviction as a testament to the courage of Alsheikh’s victims.
“The message is clear: human rights violators who come to the United States will receive no safe harbour here,” Duva said, according to the Justice Department. “We will find them, and they will be prosecuted and punished for their heinous crimes.”
Alsheikh had been in federal custody since his arrest in July 2024. His sentencing also included a future hearing on victim restitution.
The case comes amid continuing efforts to pursue accountability for alleged abuses committed during Syria’s long civil war. The Assad government was toppled in late 2024, after which Syrians searched former detention facilities for information about relatives who had disappeared during the conflict.
The U.S. prosecution is significant because Alsheikh is among the highest-ranking former Assad-era officials to have been prosecuted and convicted in person outside Syria.
