SNHR Welcomes the Sentence against Samir Ousman Alsheikh

By Syrian Network for Human Rights

September 20, 2026

SNHR welcomes the sentence issued on September 17, 2026, by the United States District Court for the Central District of California, ordering the imprisonment of Samir Ousman Alsheikh, one of the former senior security officials in the regime of Bashar al-Assad, for a period of sixty years. A federal jury had convicted him, on March 16, 2026, on six counts, these being: conspiracy to commit torture, three counts of torture, fraud in the possession and use of an immigration document, and attempted naturalization fraud. The torture counts centered on the period in which Alsheikh ran Adra Central Prison in Damascus between 2005 and 2008.

Alsheikh, who holds the rank of brigadier general, occupied a number of security and administrative posts under Bashar al-Assad, among them the administration of Adra Central Prison between 2005 and 2008, and then the post of Governor of Deir Ez-Zour as of July 2011. The database of SNHR indicates that he also assumed the headship of the Political Security branch in Damascus Suburbs governorate, and that he was a member of the security committee in Deir Ez-Zour governorate until the beginning of 2013.

According to the evidence presented before the court, the torture charges were linked to the period in which Alsheikh ran Adra Prison, at a time where detainees were subjected to torture and ill-treatment, particularly in the section known as “Wing 13”. The trial rested on the testimonies of a number of survivors, alongside evidence and documents submitted by the American prosecution. The judicial path had begun with immigration-related charges, before it expanded to include the torture counts. American law permits the prosecution of the perpetrators of the crime of torture committed outside American territory when the accused is present inside the United States, and this is the legal basis upon which the prosecution in this case relied.

The Contribution of SNHR to the Case

Since 2023, SNHR has contributed to supporting the investigations related to Samir Ousman Alsheikh, through providing the United States Department of Justice with documented and detailed data on the violations committed during the periods in which Alsheikh held leadership posts, in addition to analyses relating to the patterns of violations and to the chain of command, and this in coordination with partner bodies. This cooperation comes within the framework of the memorandum of understanding that SNHR signed with the American government in October 2019 concerning the exchange of information related to human rights violations.

The database of SNHR indicates that the period in which Alsheikh held the post of Governor of Deir Ez-Zour witnessed the perpetration of wide-scale violations in the governorate, as SNHR documented the killing of no fewer than 3,933 civilians, among them 312 children and 261 women, in addition to the killing of 93 individuals due to torture, and the recording of 659 cases of arbitrary arrest, 508 of which turned into cases of enforced disappearance. SNHR cites these data, which are based on its own documentation, as a documentation of the scope of the violations that the governorate witnessed during that period, not as facts adjudicated by the American court, nor as a standalone proof of the individual responsibility of Alsheikh for them, since the conviction was confined to the torture crimes connected to Adra Prison, alongside the immigration and naturalization crimes.

The Significance of the Sentence within the Path of Accountability

SNHR sees in this sentence an important step in the path of holding accountable those responsible for the gross violations in Syria, which confirms that the passage of years or the departure from Syrian territory shouldn’t constitute an obstacle before the prosecution of the perpetrators of torture crimes and of other serious crimes, whenever jurisdiction and the necessary evidence are available. Torture is absolutely prohibited under international law, and it can’t be justified under any circumstance.

This path also brings to the fore the importance of the testimonies of survivors and victims, alongside independent documentation and the preservation of evidence, in supporting access to justice, and it affirms that human rights and documentation work can constitute an important basis for supporting investigations and judicial proceedings, and for safeguarding the rights of victims and their families to truth and justice.

The Demands of SNHR

SNHR calls upon the states that possess legal competence to continue investigating the crimes of torture and the other serious crimes committed in Syria, and to prosecute their perpetrators, while guaranteeing the protection of witnesses and victims, and respecting the standards of a fair trial and the rights of all parties. It also stresses the importance of the continuation of cooperation between the competent judicial authorities and human rights organizations, and of the exchange of information and evidence in accordance with the legal frameworks in force.

SNHR renews its welcome of the sentence, and affirms its readiness to continue cooperating with the competent judicial authorities, and to provide the documented data and evidence it possesses, in a manner that contributes to supporting accountability pathways and to combating impunity, and that strengthens the right of victims and their families to access justice

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