A former Syrian prison chief, Samir Ousman Alsheikh, has been sentenced to 60 years in a United States federal prison for torturing inmates and lying to US immigration officials.
The 74-year-old was sentenced on Thursday, September 17, 2026, by US District Judge Hernán D. Vera in Los Angeles after a federal jury convicted him in March on six counts, including conspiracy to commit torture, three counts of torture, immigration document fraud and attempted naturalisation fraud.
Alsheikh served as head of Damascus Central Prison, commonly known as Adra Prison, from approximately 2005 to 2008 under the government of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
According to evidence presented during the trial, Alsheikh ordered and participated in the torture of prisoners, particularly those accused of supporting or refusing to harm political opponents of the Syrian government.
Some detainees were taken to an underground section known as Wing 13, where witnesses described being held in tiny cells and subjected to severe physical abuse.
Victims testified that prisoners were suspended by their wrists from ceiling pipes, beaten and restrained inside tyres. Others were placed on a torture device known as the “Flying Carpet”, which was used to forcibly bend victims’ bodies at the waist. The Justice Department said one victim testified that Alsheikh personally stomped on the device while he was restrained.
After leaving his prison post, Alsheikh was appointed governor of Syria’s Deir Ez-Zour province in 2011. He later applied for a US visa in 2018 and became a lawful permanent resident after concealing information about his alleged involvement in torture at Adra Prison.
He entered the United States in 2020 and was later accused of continuing to conceal his past while applying for US citizenship. He has remained in federal custody since his arrest in July 2024.
The US Justice Department described Alsheikh as the highest-ranking former member of the Assad regime to have been tried and convicted in person outside Syria.
Prosecutors had sought a sentence of at least 80 years, while Alsheikh’s lawyers requested a five-year term and said he was willing to be deported to Syria. The judge ultimately imposed a 60-year sentence.
A hearing to determine possible financial restitution for victims will be held at a later date.
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