Syrian official who oversaw prisons with widespread allegations of abuse arrested by US officials

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former Syrian military official who oversaw prisons with widespread allegations of abuse has been arrested in Los Angeles.

Samir Ousman al-Sheikh, 72, was arrested last week at Los Angeles International Airport on immigration fraud charges, specifically that he denied in his U.S. visa application that he had ever ordered any political killings or carried out abuse in Syria, according to court documents.

Al-Sheikh, a resident of Los Angeles since 2020, is suspected of naturalization fraud in his effort to seek U.S. citizenship, according to a criminal complaint filed July 9. Al-Sheikh, who was in charge of Syria’s infamous Adra prison, “provided materially false information on his visa application by falsely stating that he had not committed, ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in extrajudicial killings, political killings, or other acts of violence,” the complaint states.

Investigators were considering additional charges, according to court papers.