Former Syrian official who oversaw prison charged with torture in US

Samir Ousman al-Sheikh was charged by a federal grand jury with several counts of torture and conspiracy to commit torture

A freed Syrian prisoner, left, hugs his brother after being released from Adra Prison on the northeast outskirts of Damascus, Syria. Picture: AP/Muzaffar Salman

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 Assad, was charged by a federal grand jury with several counts of torture and conspiracy to commit torture.