A Pennsylvania man has been arrested on charges he allegedly tortured a victim in the Kurdistan region of Iraq in 2015.

Ross Roggio, 53, from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, allegedly suffocated the victim with a belt, threatened to cut off one of the victim’s fingers and directed Kurdish soldiers to inflict other severe pain and suffering in the victim, according to the superseding indictment.

U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and The Department of Justice announced the arrest on Friday, Feb 18.

The indictment stated that Roggio was managing a project in 2015 to construct a factory and produce weapons in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. One of Roggio’s employees had raised concerns about the weapons project, and Roggio allegedly arranged for Kurdish soldiers to abduct the employee.

The employee was kept by Kurdish soldiers at their military compound for around 39 days. Roggio interrogated the employee several times and allegedly directed the soldiers to suffocate the individual with a bag, tased the individual in the groin and other areas of the body, beat the individual with fists and rubber hoses, violently jumped on the person's chest while wearing military boots and threatened to cut off one of their fingers while applying pressure with a large cutting tool.

If convicted, Roggio faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each of the torture charges

as well as a maximum total statutory penalty of 705 years in prison for the remaining 37 counts.