A 72-year-old former Syrian prison chief, Samir Ousman Alsheikh, has been charged in Los Angeles with torture-related offenses. He allegedly commanded the physical and psychological torment of political prisoners while overseeing the notorious Adra prison in Damascus from 2005 to 2008 under former President Bashar al-Assad. He immigrated to the U.S. in 2020 and applied for citizenship in 2023. His lawyers deny the charges, which arose after his arrest at Los Angeles International Airport while attempting to travel to Lebanon.