A Pennsylvania man has been arrested on federal charges related to the alleged torture of an Iraqi man in 2015. Officials explain that these torture charges stem from an illegal export of weapons scheme the man facilitated in Iraq’s autonomous northern region, Kurdistan.

Ross Roggio, 53, of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, was a U.S. contractor working in the Kurdish region of Iraq. Roggio worked along with Kurdish officials to build a weapons factory, where he oversaw the production of weapons for Kurdish soldiers.

According to U.S. officials, when one of the workers began raising concerns about the operation, Roggio directed Kurdish soldiers to kidnap the man in order to keep from interfering with the project. After kidnapping him, Roggio allegedly directed Kurdish soldiers to begin systematically torturing the victim. The torture lasted 39 days.

Allegations in the indictment detail horrific acts of torture. They explain that Kurdish soldiers were directed to put a bag over the victim's head to suffocate him. U.S. officials detail that Roggio conducted “multiple interrogation sessions.” During some of these sessions, the victim was allegedly tasered in the groin area along with other areas on his body. The indictment explains that Roggio directed soldiers to “jump violently on the victim’s chest while wearing military boots, and threaten to cut off one of the victim’s fingers while applying pressure to the finger with a large cutting tool.” On at least one occasion, Roggio went as far as strapping a belt onto the victim's neck and then suspending the victim in the air. The victim allegedly lost consciousness because of the torture.

Local news outlet WFXR spoke with Roggio’s mother about the torture charges. His mother, Soon Roggio, was visibly upset about the news and explained that her son was her caregiver. “I'm a mother of course everybody thinks I'm wrong,” Soon Roggio said. “A wrong idea everybody thinks of me. But I just can't live without him.” She added that when she spoke to her son after his arrest on the new charges, he said that he was ok. “He was just worried about me and my husband, rather than himself,” Soon explained.

A friend of Roggio, Kevin Forrest, also shared his disbelief at the news. “If you knew him and the things that he would do for people and everything,” Forrest said, 'You just couldn't imagine that anything, like they're accusing him of doing, would ever have happened.”

These new charges against Roggio follow a 37-count indictment that was handed down in 2018. In that indictment, Roggio was accused of illegally exporting weapons parts to the autonomous region of Iraq.

Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division shared in the indictment, “The heinous acts of violence that Ross Roggio directed and inflicted upon the victim were blatant human rights violations that will not be tolerated.” Quesada adds, “This superseding indictment underscores that the United States stands for the rule of law and will hold accountable anyone who commits acts of torture, regardless of where it takes place.”

If convicted on his new charges, Roggio faces a maximum of 20 years behind bars for each torture charge. He also faces a maximum total statutory penalty of 705 years in prison for the remaining 37 counts, according to the department.