Syria|Samir Usman al-Sheikh had entered the United States because his wife had previously obtained its citizenship.
Dissidents a former Syrian army officer suspected of torturing and killing has been arrested in Los Angeles. The news agency reports on the case AP and a newspaper The New York Times.
The federal police took over by Samir Usman al-Sheikh caught last week just before he was due to fly to Beirut, Lebanon, which is just over a hundred kilometers drive to Damascus, Syria.
Al-Sheikh72, has lived in Los Angeles on permanent residency since 2020. He is accused of fraud on his visa and citizenship applications, having denied persecuting anyone for those political views or being involved in the killings.
Al-Sheik ran the notorious Adra prison on the outskirts of Damascus from 2005 to 2008. Among others, dissidents and demonstrators have been imprisoned there. Syria was already led by the current president Bashar al-Assad. Human rights organizations and UN officials have accused the Syrian regime of torture and other human rights crimes in its prisons.
Al-Sheikh entered the United States with the help of his wife, who had previously obtained American citizenship.
“The fact that the leader of this torture chamber has survived to the United States is comparable to the long life of Nazi commanders in Latin America after World War II,” expert Andrew Tabler told The New York Times.
He was responsible for Syria affairs for the previous US president Donald Trump’s in the National Security Council.
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