Status: 04/15/2022 03:51 a.m
A US federal jury found an IS member guilty of, among other things, taking part in the kidnapping and murder of US citizens. The 33-year-old faces life imprisonment.
A notorious British member of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist militia has been found guilty in the United States of taking part in the kidnapping and killing of US citizens. The Justice Department said last night that a federal jury in Alexandria, Virginia, found defendant El Shafi Elsheikh guilty of four hostage-takings and conspiracy to kill those American hostages. He faces life imprisonment. The sentence will be announced at a later date.
Worldwide horror
According to the indictment, the now 33-year-old belonged to an IS terrorist cell that became known as “The Beatles” because of the origin and accent of the members.
The cell had beheaded more than two dozen hostages and tortured many more, according to the US State Department. Their victims included US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as development workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.
Videos of beheadings, with prisoners dressed in orange overalls, sparked global outrage in 2014.
Diane Foley, the mother of the murdered journalist, spoke to the media following the verdict.
Image: AFP
“Try to break the hostages”
The Justice Ministry said Elsheikh personally guarded hostages from Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, New Zealand and Switzerland in Syria and participated in negotiations for their release. Together with two other IS members, he is said to have overseen the prison where the hostages were being held.
“Elsheikh and his co-conspirators engaged in a sustained pattern of physical and psychological violence against the hostages in an attempt to break the hostages,” the ministry said. This also had the aim of enforcing high ransom payments and other demands.
British citizenship revoked
Elsheikh had been extradited by Britain, along with another suspected member of the cell, Alexanda Kotey, on condition that he would not face the death penalty in the United States. Kotey pleaded guilty in a US court last year.
During the Alexandria trial, Elscheich denied having belonged to The Beatles. His lawyer told the court that none of the previous hostages identified Elsheikh during the trial. The public prosecutor’s office, on the other hand, stated that Elscheich’s affiliation with the “Beatles” had been proven beyond a doubt. Britain has since revoked the man’s British citizenship.