US authorities arrest a former Syrian official in Los Angeles

Samir Ousman al-Sheikh, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was arrested at the airport on his way out of the US this week. The World’s host Carolyn Beeler discussed the significance of the move with Mouaz Mustafa, who played a key role in his detention.

The World

July 18, 2024

By Omar Duwaji

American authorities made a significant arrest in a Los Angeles airport on Tuesday. They detained Samir Ousman al-Sheikh, a former Syrian government official, who was waiting to board a plane to Beirut, Lebanon.

Al-Sheikh is accused of torturing and killing political dissidents in his home country. He had been living in LA since 2020, managing to stay under the radar despite his high profile.

The World’s host Carolyn Beeler spoke with Mouaz Mustafa, who played a key role in locating al-Sheikh. He also leads the Syrian Emergency Task Force, an NGO based in Washington, D.C., that provides humanitarian aid to civilians impacted by war in Syria.

Carolyn Beeler: How significant is this arrest and why was Samir Ousman al-Sheikh wanted in the first place?

Mouaz Mustafa: I think this is a huge arrest. This person, before the Syrian revolution began, was actually a senior intelligence officer with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, someone who ran Adra civilian prison that’s located on the outskirts of Damascus. And during his time there, he did terrible things, oversaw and signed off on executions, watched people be tortured in front of him in his own office, did some really, really horrible stuff. Assad himself pulled him out of retirement in order to appoint him as both the governor of Deir ez-Zor and the head of the security committee there.

The governor of the Syrian province that you’re talking about?

That’s right. The Syrian governorate of Deir ez-Zor, which is on the border with Iraq. This was a place in 2011, when he was appointed, that had been coming out in a peaceful protest against the tyrannical regime in Damascus.

Then, it was this man who was responsible for the detention of countless people from Deir ez-Zor, and he ordered the Syrian regime’s army to shell and besiege and bombard Deir ez-Zor. So his time, from 2011 to 2013, in Deir ez-Zor was even bloodier than his time heading a concentration camp like Adra prison.

There are a lot of very serious allegations here, but he has not yet been convicted of any of these crimes. Is that right?

Yeah, he’s been arrested on a couple of charges and he’s under investigation for crimes against humanity, war crimes and for every man, woman, child and elderly person who he ordered their arrest or shot by allowing people to shoot at the the peaceful protests.

You’ve mentioned that your organization was involved in this case. You mentioned evidence that you helped gather. What role did your organization play in this arrest?

Yeah, so our team gets a call. We understand that this war criminal is actually in the US. And so what we did is we went to work right away. We went and reported this to the Department of State, to Near East Affairs, to the Bureau for Democracy, Labor and Human Rights, it’s all within the State Department.

We told some key folks in Congress that could help us push things through. And then, most importantly, talked to law enforcement in the Department of Justice.

So, once we informed the US government, we were able to provide them information of where this guy was in the US — where he is right now and where he was before. Then, it began an investigation.

The rest was going to be whenever we’ve had multiple cases already built. But when he bought a one-way ticket to leave, the arrest had to take place.

So, Samir Ousman al-Sheikh has allegedly committed these crimes on Syrian soil. How will a court case against him in the US work? How will he be processed through the courts here?

Different countries have different laws in different jurisdictions. Under US code, if the perpetrator is here in the US, then it’s a whole other story, and there’s precedent for this.

And so, because he happened to come to the US, it doesn’t matter if he holds American citizenship or not. It doesn’t matter if he’s killed or tortured an American citizen or not.

He can be held accountable because he came to our country under our jurisdiction. He’ll be held accountable for crimes against humanity or war crimes or torture or anything terrible he’s done.

Now, al-Sheikh was a permanent resident in the US. He had a green card, he
was well along the path toward citizenship. The US is not an easy place to gain citizenship for most immigrants. I’m wondering with this high-profile past, how exactly did he get so far along the path toward citizenship? Do you know?

I’m wondering the exact same thing. I have the greatest respect for the professionalism of US government workers and Customs and Border Protection and all of that, and whoever reads over a visa and so on. But, I think here there’s either a mistake or something else.

I mean, Google his picture, reverse image his photo, and he comes up shaking hands with Assad. But look, at the end of the day, I’m not mad about that, honestly. Because if he didn’t reach the US, we wouldn’t be able to hold him accountable.

But that is another conversation that needs to be addressed, in all seriousness, is how can war criminals be allowed in or out? And that’s how every single person from the Assad regime or any war criminals should feel about coming to the US.

You mentioned that this is a meaningful arrest globally, not just for the US. There have been efforts to prosecute former Syrian regime officials and military figures in Europe and other places. How exactly do you place this case within that larger context?

I think this is the biggest case out there. Look, I love that there is a red notice out of France for Bashar al-Assad himself. I think more countries should actually come together in a joint court or joint investigation to where they can put out red notices, arrest warrants for Bashar al-Assad himself that won’t be challenged in court, because a single country alone can’t just go after the president of another country. There’s some International Court of Justice precedent, among other things, and you see those problems playing out in France.

But the other thing is, this is the US itself taking that role, and I don’t know if the US has arrested someone on this level from Syria, ever. I think this is big news on multiple levels.

Most importantly, for me, it is hope for the Syrian revolution and the Syrian people that continue to fight for their dignity and its fear for the dictator in Damascus.

Parts of this interview have been edited for length and clarity.