US convicts member of terrorist group ‘The Beatles’ notorious for beheading hostages

Two terror suspects El Shafee el-Sheikh and Alexanda Kotey (right) in this 2018 photo afp

Reuters news agency on April 15 reported that a court in the US has just sentenced to El Shafee el-Sheikh (36 years old), organization member Self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) is notorious, for beheading hostages in Syria.

El-Sheikh is a British citizen who has been stripped of his citizenship and convicted of all charges including taking hostages leading to death, conspiracy to commit murder and aiding a terrorist organization, in connection with the deaths of four people. American hostages.

The American victims included two journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, two aid workers, Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.

The defendant was found guilty in federal court in Alexandria (Virginia) after 2 weeks of trial and more than 4 hours of litigation. “This is the day when we don’t need bombs to bring about justice. I really feel there’s still justice,” said Diane, Foley’s mother.

Earlier in January 2018, el-Sheikh and another former member of this terrorist organization, Alexanda Amon Kotey (38) was captured by the Kurdish militia and handed over to US forces in Iraq.

They are sent to the US in 2020 for trial. Kotey pleaded guilty in September 2021 and faces a life sentence, scheduled to be sentenced on April 29. It is expected that el-Sheikh will also be sentenced to life in prison on August 12.

“The punishment he will receive will probably be worse than the death penalty,” said Carl Mueller, the father of victim Kayla Mueller.

He said the defendant is expected to be held at Supermax prison in Colorado, known as the highest security prison in the US, where some cells have almost no light and inmates have no contact with people. other 22-23 hours a day.

James Foley’s mother Diane Foley speaks to the press after the trial afp

The terrorist group with 4 members was nicknamed after the famous group The Beatles because they spoke with a British accent. The group is accused of taking American, European and Japanese hostages in Syria between 2012 and 2015.

The group has also been accused of torturing and killing victims, including by beheading, and IS has released the videos for propaganda.

The group’s leader, Mohamed Emwazi, nicknamed Jihadi John, was killed during a US air strike in Syria in November 2015, while another member, Aine Davis, was detained in Turkey after being convicted of terrorism.

Kotey and el-Sheikh monitor hostage facilities and coordinate ransom negotiations by email, according to US officials. Both also caused “protracted physical and psychological violence against the hostages”.