Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
26%
5 of 19 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
95/100
Los Angeles Times's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
6
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
California judge sentences former Syrian prison boss to 60 years for torturing inmates
-
asserted
judge → sentence → inmates
A federal judge in California has sentenced a former Syrian prison warden to 60 years for torturing inmates and lying to immigration officials to get into the United States.
asserted
judge → sentence → States
A jury convicted Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 74, in March of conspiracy to commit torture, three counts of torture, one count of visa fraud and one count of attempted naturalization fraud, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.
uncertain
jury → convict → Angeles
Alsheikh was involved in torturing political dissidents to deter opposition to the regime of then-Syrian President Bashar Assad, according to the Justice Department.
uncertain
Alsheikh → involve → Department
Government officials say Alsheikh is the highest-ranking former member of the Assad regime to be tried and convicted in person outside Syria.
asserted
Alsheikh → say → Syria
The Justice Department had sought no fewer than 80 years in prison, while Alsheikh requested five years, citing his age and his chronic medical conditions.
asserted
Alsheikh → seek → age
In handing down the sentence on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Hernán Vera remarked on the “utter reprehensibility” of Alsheikh’s crime, Courthouse News Service reported.
“The conduct was heinous, unimaginably cruel and unspeakably violent and brutal,” the judge reportedly said.
uncertain
judge → hand → crime
Nina Marino, Alsheikh’s attorney, said her client plans to appeal the sentence.
asserted
client → say → sentence
In a statement, First Assistant U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli said he hoped the sentence “gives some semblance of healing and closure to this defendant’s victims.”
asserted
sentence → say → victims
“Criminals who inflict the type of savage brutality that this defendant did on his victims must never be granted refuge in our country,” Essayli said.
asserted
Essayli → inflict → country
Samir Ousman Sheikh allegedly ordered inmates to a wing of a Syrian prison where they were then tortured with a device known as the ‘flying carpet.’
uncertain
they → order → carpet
During Alsheikh’s trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Alsheikh ordered and participated in the torture of prisoners while he headed the Adra Prison, also known as Damascus Central Prison, from around 2005 to 2008.
asserted
he → present → 2008
Jurors heard testimony from three of Alsheikh’s victims who said they were packed into small, filthy, cold, wet cells that were infested with insects and other vermin.
asserted
that → hear → insects
They described being tortured and seeing and hearing the torture of other prisoners.
asserted
They → describe → prisoners
The victims testified about being fastened to a device known as the “Flying Carpet,” which folded their bodies in half at the waist; about being manacled to the ceiling and suspended sometimes for days; and about being beaten while immobilized inside tires, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in L.A.
During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence that when detainees refused Alsheikh’s orders to harm political prisoners, he ordered them to be sent to an underground section of the prison known as Wing 13, where they were tortured.
uncertain
they → testify → Wing
Prosecutors also presented evidence that Alsheikh, who came to the country in 2020, lied to U.S. immigration authorities about his background to secure a green card and also on an application to naturalize as a U.S. citizen.
asserted
who → present → citizen
Khaled Abdul Malek, who testified about being detained and tortured under Alsheikh’s direction, praised the sentence in a statement.
asserted
who → testify → statement
“The land of freedom will never be a safe haven for slaughterers and those who committed crimes against humanity,” Malek said.
asserted
Malek → commit → humanity
“This trial is not the end, but the first step on the road toward accountability and justice for everyone whose hands have been stained with the blood of innocent people.”
asserted
hands → stain → people
The Aporia
