Samir Ousman al-Sheikh, who was seeking U.S. citizenship, is accused of falsely describing whether he persecuted anyone for their political beliefs or had been involved in any killings.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
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 Los Angeles, 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.
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 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.”
Mr. al-Kadhem shared evidence with American investigators, including an order from Mr. al-Sheikh informing any government worker who appeared at a protest or missed days from work that they would be questioned by intelligence agents.
Mouaz Moustafa, the executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, an advocacy group, said his organization became aware a few years ago that Mr. al-Sheikh was hiding in plain sight in Los Angeles.
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