Former Syrian military official who oversaw notorious prison indicted in California on federal torture charges
CBSN
A former Syrian military official who oversaw a prison where alleged human rights abuses took place has been charged with several counts of torture after being arrested in July for visa fraud charges, authorities said Thursday.
Samir Ousman al-Sheikh, who oversaw Syria's infamous Adra Prison from 2005 to 2008 under recently ousted President Bashar al-Assad, was charged by a federal grand jury in California with several counts of torture and conspiracy to commit torture.
"It's a huge step toward justice," said Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the U.S.-based Syrian Emergency Task Force. "Samir Ousman al-Sheikh's trial will reiterate that the United States will not allow war criminals to come and live in the United States without accountability, even if their victims were not U.S. citizens."
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