A Pennsylvania man was found guilty by a federal jury of multiple felonies, including torture and illegally exporting weapons and parts to Iraq, the U.S. Department of Justice reported recently.
Ross Roggio, 54, of Stroudsburg, Pa., was convicted May 19 of "torture, conspiracy to commit torture, conspiring to commit an offense against the United States, exporting weapons parts and services to Iraq without the approval of the Department of State, exporting weapons tools to Iraq without the approval of the Department of Commerce, smuggling goods, wire fraud, and money laundering," the DOJ reported May 22. Roggio will be sentenced Aug. 23 and faces life in prison, according to the DOJ.
The torture charges against Roggio stem from a 2015 incident involving the torture of an Estonian citizen in the Kurdistan region in Iraq, the report states, "in connection with the operation of an illegal weapons manufacturing plant in Kurdistan."
The DOJ reports that court documents and evidence showed that Roggio "arranged for Kurdish soldiers to abduct and detain the victim at a Kurdish military compound where Roggio suffocated the victim with a belt, threatened to cut off one of his fingers, and directed Kurdish soldiers to repeatedly beat, tase, choke, and otherwise physically and mentally abuse the victim over a 39-day period." The victim worked at the weapons factory Roggio was building to make M4 automatic rifles and Glock 9mm pistols, according to the report.
In connection with the weapons-factory project, Roggio also unlawfully shipped firearm parts that were under the export control of the Departments of State and Commerce, and provided training to foreigner nationals how to manufacture, assemble and operate the MR rifles, according to the news release.
“Roggio brutally tortured another human being to prevent interference with his illegal activities," Kenneth Polite Jr., assistant Attorney General, said in the news release. "Thanks to the courage of the victim and other witnesses, the hard work of U.S. law enforcement, and the assistance of Estonian authorities, he will now be held accountable for his cruelty."
