Former Syrian Official in Charge of Notorious Prison Is Arrested in California

A former Syrian military official who ran one of the country’s most notorious prisons and is accused of torturing and killing political dissidents has been arrested in California, according to a court filing.

Federal law enforcement agents detained the former official, Samir Ousman al-Sheikh, 72, just before he was scheduled to depart last Wednesday on a one-way flight to Beirut, Lebanon, which shares a border with Syria, according to court papers. Federal investigators requested that a judge approve an arrest warrant a day earlier.

Mr. al-Sheikh, a permanent resident of Los Angeles since 2020, is accused of attempted naturalization fraud in his effort to seek U.S. citizenship, according to a criminal complaint filed last week. According to the complaint, Mr. al-Sheikh, who ran Syria’s infamous Adra prison and was a police commander, intelligence officer and brigadier general, falsely described whether he persecuted anyone for their political beliefs or had been involved in any killings.

The case is continuing and investigators are considering additional charges, according to court papers.

A Justice Department spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Andrew Tabler, who served as the director for Syria on the National Security Council under President Donald J. Trump and later as a senior adviser to the U.S. special envoy for Syria, compared the arrest to the Nazis seeking haven abroad.

“Adra prison is one of the crown jewels of the Assad regime’s gulags,” Mr. Tabler said. “The fact that someone who was in charge of this torture chamber made it into the United States is on par with Nazi commanders living comfortably in Latin America after World War II.”