Syrian prison guard who moved to U.S. convicted of torture

A jury in U.S. District Court on Monday found that the former head of Syria's largest civil prison was guilty of torturing inmates. Samir Ousman Alsheikh tortured prisoners at the facility outside Damascus from 2005 to 2008, the Department of Justice said in a statement. Through his own actions, and by his orders to subordinates, he physically and mentally hurt prisoners, the DOJ said. Alsheikh then immigrated to South Carolina in 2020 and lied to U.S. officials about his past to fraudulently obtain a green card. He later attempted to become an American citizen, the DOJ added.

Alsheikh was convicted of three counts of torture, one count of conspiracy to commit torture, one count of immigration fraud, and one count of attempted naturalization fraud. The 73-year-old faces up to 20 years in prison for each torture charge, along with a maximum of 10 years for each of the immigration and naturalization charges, the DOJ said.

The conviction ensured that Alsheikh can no longer run from his past, said Tysen Duva, assistant attorney general at the DOJ. After evading responsibility for his crimes for years, justice has now prevailed, Tysen added.

How did Alsheikh fight the charges? He pleaded not guilty in his case in January 2025, according to court records. His attorney, Nina Marino, said during her recent closing arguments that he was used as a scapegoat for Syria’s former regime. He led the prison under then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted from his role in 2024 during the country’s civil war.

Who else has responded to Alsheikh’s conviction? The Syrian Emergency Task Force said the verdict sends a clear message that perpetrators of torture can’t escape accountability. The task force first alerted U.S. authorities to Alsheikh’s presence in the United States, which helped lead to his arrest in 2024. He is the first official from the Assad regime to be tried in the United States, the task force noted.

It's only the third time a foreign official has had to answer in a U.S. court for torture crimes committed abroad, the Loyola Justice for Atrocities Clinic said in a statement. Rajika Shah, director of the clinic, said cases like this raise questions about accountability and jurisdiction when severe human rights abuses are brought before U.S. courts.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report on when authorities first arrested Alsheikh in 2024.