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

Syrian official Samir Ousman Alsheikh, who once headed the Damascus Central Prison under deposed president Bashar al-Assad, has been sentenced to 60 years in prison by a US federal judge, according to federal prosecutors. Alsheikh, 74, was convicted in March this year on charges of torture and conspiracy to commit torture for his role in the abuse of prisoners at Adra Prison in Damascus.

He was also found guilty of lying to US immigration authorities about the crimes, fraudulently obtaining a green card, and attempting to naturalise as a US citizen.

The 60-year sentence, handed down by US district judge Hernan Vera in Los Angeles, marks the harshest punishment to date for a high-ranking member of Assad's government to be tried and convicted outside Syria. Alsheikh is believed to have ordered subordinates to inflict physical and mental pain on prisoners to suppress opposition to Assad's regime, and may have personally participated in such incidents.

Alsheikh's legal team had sought a five-year sentence, expressing disappointment upon his conviction. A witness who was detained and tortured at Adra prison, Khaled Abdul Malek, expressed hope that the sentencing signified that justice, even when delayed, would ultimately prevail. The trial concluded that Alsheikh, the highest-ranking former member of Assad's government ever tried and convicted in person outside Syria, was responsible for the abuses committed during the Assad era.

Syrian rebels seized control of the country from the Assad family in late 2024, following a swift military campaign that ended a decade-long civil war that displaced hundreds of thousands of people and left cities in rubble. Assad, who now resides in Russia, was recently sentenced in absentia to death by a Syrian court for crimes including killings, torture, and arbitrary arrest during the war.