The United States has filed criminal charges against Samir Ousman Alsheikh, the former head of a notorious Syrian prison, accused of misleading authorities about his past to secure U.S. citizenship, according to U.S. prosecutors.
At 72 years old, Alsheikh oversaw severe abuse of inmates as the head of Adra prison from 2005 to 2010, according to an indictment unsealed on Thursday in federal court in Los Angeles.
Living in South Carolina at the time of his arrest last month, Alsheikh had purchased a one-way ticket to Beirut, court documents reveal. A federal judge has since ordered his detention.
Alsheikh, who attained the rank of brigadier general while serving in the Syrian police and domestic intelligence agency, was reported to have overseen hangings and brutal beatings during his tenure at Adra prison, which housed political dissidents and others accused of crimes. His leadership predates the Syrian civil war, which saw armed rebel groups attempting to oust the Assad-led government.
Following his time at the prison, Alsheikh was appointed by Bashar al-Assad as governor of Deir Ez-Zor province in eastern Syria.
The indictment claims that Alsheikh concealed his involvement in the prison’s operations, the political persecution of dissidents, and his affiliation with Syria’s ruling Ba’ath Party during his U.S. visa application in 2020 and again when seeking citizenship in 2023.
He was granted a green card, making him a lawful permanent resident in the U.S. in 2020. He faces charges of attempted naturalization fraud and obtaining a green card through false statements. As of now, Alsheikh has not entered a plea and is scheduled to appear in court on August 16.
