A Syrian military official who fled to the United States was charged in California with multiple counts of torture, specifically for using a device called the "flying carpet" to inflict pain on prisoners.
The charges, brought by the Department of Justice, which include conspiracy to commit torture, stem from Samir Ousman Sheikh's role as the head of Damascus Central Prison (also known as Adra Prison). It's alleged that he tortured political prisoners to suppress opposition to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, reported Yahoo! News.
