A former Syrian prison official was convicted by a U.S. federal jury in Los Angeles Monday on torture and immigration fraud charges after prosecutors said he oversaw and at times personally carried out brutal abuses against detainees under the now-ousted regime of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Samir Ousman Alsheikh, a former brigadier general who once headed Damascus Central Prison, also known as Adra Prison, was found guilty after a nine-day trial of conspiracy to commit torture, immigration-related fraud offenses and three counts of torture, according to the Justice Department.

The case marks a historic step toward accountability, with Alsheikh becoming the first Assad-era official to be tried and convicted in a U.S. federal court.

Prosecutors said the 73-year-old ordered and oversaw the torture of political prisoners between 2005 and 2008, including beatings, suspension from ceilings and the use of devices such as the so-called "Magic Carpet," which folded victims’ bodies to inflict extreme pain.

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He entered the United States in 2020 after lying about his past on his visa application and later attempted to become a U.S. citizen, authorities said.

Alsheikh, who was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport in 2024 as he attempted to board a one-way flight to Beirut, faces up to 20 years in prison for each torture-related count when he is sentenced at a later date.

"Samir Ousman Alsheikh ordered, directed, and directly participated in heinous acts of torture designed to inflict excruciating mental and physical pain with the goal of punishing and silencing political dissent," said Tysen Duva, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s criminal division in a statement.

"For many years, he evaded responsibility for his crimes in Syria, including by lying to U.S. immigration authorities in order to reside in the U.S. with the hope of obtaining citizenship. Thanks to the courage and perseverance of the victims and the dedication of Department of Justice prosecutors, along with their law enforcement partners, justice has prevailed, and Alsheikh can no longer run from his past."

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According to a federal criminal complaint filed in July 2024, Alsheikh was an associate of Maher al-Assad, the younger brother of Bashar al-Assad, who led the Syrian military's elite Fourth Division.

He was appointed by Assad in 2011 as governor of Deir ez-Zor after anti-government protests that spread across the country during the Arab Spring.

The Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), a Washington-based advocacy group, assisted investigators in bringing the former regime official to justice. The organization first identified Alsheikh in Los Angeles through a tip and conducted its own verification using open-source material and leaked Syrian government data.

It then alerted U.S. authorities and worked with the FBI and Justice Department to help build the case, including connecting investigators with key witnesses who testified about abuses at Adra Prison. According to SETF, it pushed for torture charges rather than solely immigration violations to ensure broader accountability.

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Mamoun al-Homsi, a former independent member of the Syrian Parliament, was arrested in 2001 for demanding democratic reforms and spent five years in Adra Prison. He told Fox News Digital in an interview, through a translator, that Alsheikh stood out from other prison directors for his brutality.

Al-Homsi said that while previous prison heads largely adhered to prison rules and did not target detainees for their political views, Alsheikh's arrival in 2005 marked a shift. 

"The toughest torture for me wasn't anything done to me physically as much as it was what was done to others on my behalf," said al-Homsi.

SETF Executive Director Mouaz Moustafa, who attended the trial, told Fox News Digital that testimony revealed Alsheikh ordered another prisoner, Khaled Abdul Malek, to poison al-Homsi.

"Khaled Abdul Malek had come so close to Mamoun al-Homsi, so he told him about this plan and told him don't eat anything from anyone to the point where Mamoun al-Homsi would go to the trash if there was any and wash whatever is left," Moustafa said.

Malek refused Alsheikh’s demand to poison the prominent political figure, leading to him being placed in Wing 13, a notorious part of the prison where people were tortured.

"Khaled Malik then had his back broken," Moustafa said, adding that he arrived in court with a cane and could barely walk.

Al-Homsi said he survived on olive pits and lost more than 60 pounds. He was released in 2006 and later fled to Canada.

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The former parliament member told Fox News Digital the verdict sends a message that former regime officials cannot evade accountability, even if they leave Syria and attempt to rebuild their lives abroad.

Al-Homsi called the verdict a signal that justice, though long delayed, is finally taking hold, an outcome he described as essential for the future of a free Syria.

China’s top legislature on Thursday passed an "Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law," formalizing Beijing’s long-running push to strengthen national identity and ethnic integration.

The legislation was approved at the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People’s Congress during its annual parliamentary gathering in Beijing.

State-affiliated media Xinhua previously reported that the law would seek to codify "fostering a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation" into state policy. 

It would also bolster high-quality development in areas with large ethnic minority populations and promote what officials describe as common prosperity among China’s 56 ethnic groups.

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Li Hongzhong, vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, said the measure was aimed at advancing the governance of ethnic affairs under the rule of law.

"The people of each ethnic group, all organizations and groups of the country, armed forces, every Party and social organization, every company, must forge a common consciousness of the Chinese nation according to law and the constitution, and take the responsibility of building this consciousness," the proposed law reads, according to a translation from The Associated Press.

Academics and outside observers say the provision could undermine the cultural identity of ethnic minorities by requiring the use of Mandarin in compulsory education and establishing a legal basis to pursue individuals or organizations outside China whose actions are deemed to undermine "ethnic unity," the AP reported.

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China’s population stands at 1.44 billion as of November 2020, according to the Seventh National Population Census released in 2021 by the National Bureau of Statistics.

Of that total, 91.11% were Han Chinese and 8.89% belonged to ethnic minority groups.

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James Leibold, a professor at Australia’s La Trobe University, told the AP the new measure "puts a death nail in the party’s original promise of meaningful autonomy."

Rayhan Asat, a legal scholar at Harvard University, also criticized the law, saying it "serves as a strategic tool and gives the pretext to government to commit all sorts of human rights violations."