Former Syrian military official arrested in Los Angeles for role in human rights violations

LOS ANGELES — A former Syrian military official, Samir Ousman al-Sheikh, who oversaw a prison notorious for torture and abuse, has been arrested by US Department of Homeland Security agents at Los Angeles International Airport.

The 72-year-old al-Sheikh faces charges of immigration fraud, accused of lying on his US visa and citizenship applications by denying any involvement in persecution in Syria, according to a criminal complaint filed on 9 July and reviewed by The Associated Press.

US Senator Jim Risch (R-ID), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated that the arrest underscores the need to intensify accountability efforts, warning that Assad and his associates can either remain in Syria or risk arrest abroad.

Al-Sheikh was the head of Adra Central Prison and the political security branch in Adra, closely linked to the Assad family. He retired in 2010 but was reappointed as governor and head of the Security Committee in Dayro Zcuro (Deir ez-Zor) in 2011.

He is accused of violently suppressing peaceful demonstrations, besieging and bombing Dayro Zcuro, and committing several massacres, including those in Al-Jura, Al-Kosor, Al-Qubur, Al-Nufus, and Al-Quriya, as reported by a human rights organization.