 He was the head of that gulag. He retired before an uprising against Bashar al-Assad's regime, but Mostafa says Assad brought him out of retirement to be the governor of Deir ez-Zor in 2011, at a time when authorities were killing and jailing protesters. A lawyer for al-Sheikh, Peter Hardin, says his client vehemently denies these, quote, abhorrent accusations. He says al-Sheikh looks forward to clearing his name in court.