A federal jury has convicted a Pennsylvania man on a number of charges -- including torture, exporting weapons parts and conspiring to commit an offense against the United States.
On May 19, the jury voted to convict Ross Roggio, 54, of Stroudsburg, for his involvement in the torture of an Estonian citizen in 2015 in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
The crimes, officials said, were in connection with the operation of an illegal weapons manufacturing plant in Kurdistan.
According to the United State Department of Justice, court documents and evidence presented at trial 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."
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
“Roggio brutally tortured another human being to prevent interference with his illegal activities,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, in a statement. “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.”
The victim, officials said, was employed at a weapons factory that Roggio was developing in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The factory, officials said was intended to manufacture M4 automatic rifles and Glock 9mm pistols.
In connection with the weapons factory project, which included Roggio providing training to foreign persons in the operation, assembly, and manufacturing of the M4 automatic rifle, law enforcement officials said that Roggio also illegally exported firearm parts that were controlled for export by the Departments of State and Commerce.
U.S. & World
Stories that affect your life across the U.S. and around the world.
“Today’s milestone conviction is the result of the extraordinary courage of the victim, who came forward after the defendant inflicted unspeakable pain on him for more than a month,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, in a statement. “Torture is among the most heinous crimes the FBI investigates, and together with our partners at the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, we will relentlessly pursue justice.”
Roggio was convicted on a number of charges including 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, smuggling goods, money laundering and other crimes.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 23 and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
