Enab Baladi – Yamen Moghrabi
The announcement by US authorities of the arrest of former Deir Ezzor Governor Samir al-Sheikh has stirred speculations about the charges against him and the possibility of trying him in the United States, similar to the trials held in European countries for former Syrian regime officials accused of committing crimes against humanity.
Al-Sheikh, who managed Adra Prison in Damascus from 2005 to 2008 and was the governor of Deir Ezzor city in northeastern Syria, is accused of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes, according to Syrian human rights organizations that spoke to Enab Baladi.
However, al-Sheikh’s arrest in the United States was not due to these accusations but to violations of US immigration laws, which might open the door for his trial on the charges attributed to him if the US Department of Justice moves in this direction before the upcoming hearings scheduled for July and August.
Arrest for immigration law violations
Samir Othman al-Sheikh arrived in the United States in 2020 after the US agreed to grant him a visa following a request by his American citizen wife.
Four years later, specifically on July 16, al-Sheikh booked a one-way ticket to leave without returning and attempted to travel through Los Angeles International Airport, California. However, he was arrested under an arrest warrant accompanied by a search warrant for his personal phone.
US authorities moved to arrest al-Sheikh due to his violations of US immigration law and providing false information since obtaining the visa and then permanent residency.
According to Mohammad al-Abdallah, director of the Syria Justice and Accountability Center (SJAC), when applying for a visa or citizenship in the US, applicants typically answer general questions about whether they were government employees or participated in any governmental role or accused of committing any violations. Applicants usually respond “no,” which al-Sheikh did.
Al-Abdallah, who attended a meeting about al-Sheikh’s arrest at the US Department of Justice on July 17, added that the currently attributed charges are related to defrauding US immigration law.
Although the charges are not related to Syria, this does not preclude the possibility of the US Department of Justice charging al-Sheikh with new allegations related to the Syrian file.
According to al-Abdallah, there is a parallel investigation in this regard, and the ministry had to file fraud charges to prevent al-Sheikh from fleeing and issue legal warrants.
Currently, al-Sheikh is awaiting two hearings, the first on July 26 and the second on August 1, in western Los Angeles County. However, these sessions, according to al-Abdallah, are only preliminary hearings before the trial, which will not begin before early 2025.
In the US, trials are usually brief, as all litigation procedures and evidence presentation and defenses from all parties are completed before the trial, unlike European courts where all steps are discussed during the court proceedings.
On July 16, the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF) said in a statement that al-Sheikh “is under investigation for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Syria,” and that it had informed the US government of his presence on its territory in early 2022.
Al-Abdallah hoped that the Department of Justice had completed its investigation into the violations and crimes against humanity al-Sheikh is accused of before the trial begins.
Commenting on al-Sheikh’s arrest, US Senator and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Jim Risch said, “The world is closed to Assad and his cronies.”
In a post on his X account on July 17, he added that the arrest of a Syrian regime official in plain sight publicly reminds us to double our accountability efforts and that “Assad and his cronies can either stay in Syria or face arrest.”
4,000 people killed due to al-Sheikh
In addition to heading Adra Prison, Samir al-Sheikh was the head of the Political Security branch in Adra and is considered a close associate of Maher al-Assad, the brother of Syrian regime’s President Bashar al-Assad. He retired in 2010.
Protests demanding Bashar al-Assad’s resignation erupted in March 2011. Afterward, al-Assad reinstated al-Sheikh as governor of Deir Ezzor and president of its security committee, continuing in his position until early 2013.
The security committee played a role in making military and security decisions in Deir Ezzor, and during al-Sheikh’s presence, Syrian regime forces entered the city to suppress the protests.
According to the Syrian Emergency Task Force, Deir Ezzor experienced violent suppression of peaceful demonstrations during al-Sheikh’s tenure, resulting in thousands of deaths and al-Sheikh being responsible for several massacres in the city.
Upon al-Sheikh’s arrest, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) issued a statement on July 17, stating that it had provided the US Department of Justice with summaries of the most prominent violations committed by al-Sheikh during his tenure.
According to the network, 3,933 civilians, including 312 children and 261 women, were killed by Syrian regime forces and their allied militias while al-Sheikh was in Deir Ezzor. Among the victims were 14 medical personnel and 13 media professionals.
The SNHR documented 659 arrest cases, including 31 children and 19 women, in regime detention centers in the province. 47 people were released while 612 remained, and 508 of them became forcibly disappeared.
Al-Sheikh was responsible for several massacres in Deir Ezzor, including the al-Joura and al-Qusoor massacres, killing more than 450 civilians.
According to the network statement, it has supported the case since 2023 in coordination with the Syrian Emergency Task Force, preceded by a memorandum of understanding signed with the US government in 2019 to assist in investigations and accountability operations.
Fadel Abdul Ghany, the director of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, told Enab Baladi that the crimes committed in Deir Ezzor, which al-Sheikh is accused of, are “very high” and qualify as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
He added that the network indicated Bashar al-Assad’s responsibility for them as al-Sheikh’s superior, implicating him directly, without absolving al-Sheikh himself. The network’s database (containing hundreds of thousands of incidents over years of conflict) can recall specific periods and clarify al-Sheikh’s role in what happened.
Al-Sheikh’s position in authority directly involves him in the crimes, according to Abdul Ghany.
According to Abdul Ghany, the arrest is an essential step that US media and politicians will highlight, representing a “step towards accountability.”
It is crucial for the US to engage in trials of Syrian regime officials as European countries have done earlier and for US courts to act against those involved in crimes who are present on its territory, according to Abdul Ghany.
The SNHR’s statement called on the US government to expand its jurisdiction to investigate international crimes committed in Syria and prosecute those involved who are present on its territory.