Assad-era Syrian official jailed for 60 years by US court

A former Syrian government official who headed Damascus Central Prison under ousted President Bashar al-Assad has been sentenced to 60 years in prison in the United States for torturing prisoners, federal prosecutors said.

Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 74, was sentenced on Thursday by US District Judge Hernan Vera in Los Angeles. He was convicted in March of one count of conspiracy to commit torture and three counts of torture over his involvement in the abuse of prisoners at Adra Prison, commonly known by that name in Damascus.

Alsheikh was also convicted of lying to US immigration authorities about his involvement in the crimes, fraudulently obtaining a green card and attempting to become a US citizen, the US Department of Justice said.

Prosecutors said Alsheikh ordered subordinates to inflict physical and psychological pain on prisoners to deter opposition to Assad’s government and was personally involved in some of the abuse.

The Justice Department described Alsheikh as the highest-ranking former member of Assad’s government to have been tried and convicted in person outside Syria.

Alsheikh headed Adra Prison from 2005 to 2008 and had held several positions within Syria’s state security apparatus. He was charged in 2024 and had pleaded not guilty.

His lawyers had sought a five-year sentence and said in March that they were “disappointed” by his conviction.

The sentencing comes less than two years after Syrian rebels ended more than five decades of rule by the Assad family in late 2024 following a rapid advance across the country.

The Syrian civil war, which began in 2011, killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions and left much of the country’s infrastructure and cities devastated.

Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al Qaeda commander, became president after Assad was ousted and has since sought to improve Syria’s relations with Western countries.