Facts
Samir Ousman Alsheikh was the head of Damascus Central Prison, colloquially known as Adra Prison, from approximately 2005 through 2008. In that role, Alsheikh allegedly ordered subordinates to inflict and was sometimes personally involved in inflicting severe physical and mental pain and suffering on political and other prisoners. In particular, Alsheikh allegedly ordered some prisoners to Adra Prison’s “Punishment Wing,” where prisoners were beaten while suspended from the ceiling with their arms extended and were subjected to a device known as the “Flying Carpet,” which folded their bodies in half at the waist, causing excruciating pain and sometimes resulting in fractured spines.
Procedure
On 12 December 2024, a federal grand jury in Los Angeles returned a superseding indictment charging a Samir Ousman Alsheikh with torture.
The superseding indictment adds three counts of torture and one count of conspiracy to commit torture to the visa fraud and attempted naturalization fraud charges that were the subject of the initial indictment against Alsheikh in August 2024.