El Shafee Elsheikh, a former British national accused of engaging in lethal hostage-taking and conspiracy to commit murder as an alleged member of an Islamic State cell nicknamed “the Beatles” that operated in Syria and Iraq, takes off his face mask and glasses for identification purposes as he attends testimony in his trial in U.S. federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. April 1, 2022. REUTERS/Bill Hennessy
Al-Yurae- (Agencies) The Sudanese British El Shafee Elsheikh, a member of the notorious Islamic State kidnap-and-murder cell known as the “Beatles,” for their British accents was found guilty of all charges of terrorism offenses in a U.S. court yesterday for the deaths of four American hostages in Syria.
The group beheaded American hostages in Iraq and Syria and posted gruesome videos to show their brutalities that caused unmeasurable pain, outrage and condemnation from across the world.
El Shafee terrorist cell garnered international attention after releasing videos of the murders of U.S. journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig, among other victims.
A jury convicted Elsheikh, 33, of all eight counts after a two-week trial, the most significant prosecution of an IS member in the United States.
Elsheikh was charged with hostage-taking, conspiracy to murder US citizens — journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller — and supporting a terrorist organization.
“This is a day that we didn’t need bombs or bullets to bring justice,” said James Foley’s mother Diane, who fought tirelessly to try to secure her son’s release. “I really feel that justice prevailed.”
Kayla Mueller’s father also welcomed the sweeping guilty verdicts.
“We all saw the American justice system do what it does best,” said Carl Mueller, who along with his wife, Marsha, attended the grueling trial in US District Court in Alexandria near the capital Washington.
The 12-person jury deliberated for a total of around six hours over two days before delivering the verdict.
Elsheikh did not display any visible reaction as the guilty findings were read but several members of the families of the slain American hostages who were in the public gallery dabbed at their eyes.
Elsheikh and another former “Beatle,” Alexanda Amon Kotey, 38, were captured by a Kurdish militia in Syria in January 2018 and handed over to US forces in Iraq.
They were flown to the United States in 2020 to face trial. Kotey pleaded guilty in September 2021 and is facing life in prison.
Elsheikh, who was stripped of his citizenship by Britain, also faces a potential life sentence.
“The sentence he’s going to get is probably worse than a death sentence,” Carl Mueller said.
‘Loathsome’
Elsheikh’s defense attorney, Nina Ginsberg, had argued that while Elsheikh may indeed have been an IS fighter, prosecutors had not proved he actually was a “Beatle.”
Ginsberg said the “Beatles” were responsible for “brutal” and “loathsome” acts but insisted Elsheikh was not one of them.
Besides the deaths of the American hostages, Elsheikh and the other “Beatles” are suspected of involvement in the kidnapping in Syria of some 20 other journalists and relief workers from Europe, Russia and Japan.
During the trial, prosecutors played media interviews for the jury during which Elsheikh acknowledged having interactions with some of the hostages.
In the interviews conducted after his capture in Syria, Elsheikh admitted taking email addresses and proof of life questions from the hostages and to even physically beating them.
Ginsberg said Elsheikh was a “broken man” at that time and only made the admissions to avoid being sent to Iraq, where he would have faced a summary trial and execution.
He wanted to be sent to Britain or the United States “where he could get a fair trial,” she said.
‘Brutal legacy’
Nicolas Henin, a former French hostage who testified at the trial to his harrowing treatment in captivity, said following the verdict that he was “grateful to the American justice system for having organized this trial.”
“A terrorist crime opens a gaping wound in a society,” Henin said. “Only justice can bring closure to such a monstrous chapter.”
“It does not bring back the dead, it does not heal all the pain, but it soothes,” he said.
Foley, Sotloff and Kassig were beheaded by “Beatle” Mohamed Emwazi, known as “Jihadi John,” and videos of their deaths were released by IS for propaganda purposes.
Mueller was initially held by the “Beatles” but then was turned over to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who reportedly raped her repeatedly.
IS announced Mueller’s death in February 2015 and said she was killed in a Jordanian airstrike, a claim that was disputed by US authorities.
Baghdadi died during a US special forces raid in 2019. Emwazi was killed by a US drone in Syria in 2015.
In his closing argument, prosecutor Raj Parekh told the jury the government had proved that Elsheikh, Kotey and Emwazi “grew up together, radicalized together, fought as high-ranking IS fighters together and tortured and terrorized hostages together.”
“What these horrific crimes left behind is a legacy of brutal killings and shattered families,” Parekh said.
El Shafee Elsheikh, from London to Syria to IS ‘Beatle
El Shafee, Alexanda Amon Kotey and Mohamed Emwazi ended up joining the Islamic State and forming a notorious kidnap-and-murder cell known as the “Beatles.”
“They grew up together, radicalized together, fought as high-ranking IS fighters together and tortured and terrorized hostages together,” prosecutor Raj Parekh said in his closing arguments at Elsheikh’s trial.
Elsheikh was born in Sudan in 1988 but moved to Britain as a child. His father left the family when he was seven years old, according to the non-profit Counter Extremism Project (CEP).
Elsheikh studied mechanical engineering at Acton College in London, according to CEP, and was stabbed in a fight with a gang member when he was 19.
He married an Ethiopian woman in Canada when he was 21, but was not allowed to bring her to Britain, allegedly deepening his anger at the British government.
Elsheikh became increasingly radicalized and took part in a “Muslims Against Crusades” demonstration outside the US Embassy in London on September 11, 2011, according to the US indictment.
He traveled to Syria in 2012 to “wage violent jihad on behalf of radical Islamic groups,” first joining an Al-Qaeda affiliate there and then IS, US prosecutors said.
Between 2012 and 2015, Elsheikh and the other “Beatles” seized more than two dozen American, European, Japanese and Russian hostages — mostly journalists and relief workers.
Ten former European and Syrian hostages testified at Elsheikh’s trial accusing the “Beatles” of months of brutal treatment including beatings, electric shocks, waterboarding and mock executions.
‘Terrifying’
A French journalist said that he and other hostages were forced by their captors to sing a depraved parody of the Eagles song “Hotel California” called “Hotel Osama.”
“It was terrifying for us, a joke for them,” Nicolas Henin told the jury.
“George was into boxing. John kicked a lot. Ringo talked a lot about how he liked wrestling, putting people in headlocks,” said Federico Motka, an Italian relief worker using the nicknames the hostages gave to their captors.
Prosecutors said Elsheikh was the “Beatle” the hostages called “Ringo.”
Elsheikh’s defense attorneys argued that the government had failed to prove he was one of the “Beatles” but the 12-person jury disagreed, convicting him of all charges.
Elsheikh, who was dressed in beige or yellow pants with light and dark blue shirts for his trial, declined the opportunity to testify in court but it was his own words that helped convict him.
Prosecutors repeatedly played excerpts for the jury of interviews Elsheikh gave to media outlets after his capture by Kurdish forces in Syria in January 2018.
He acknowledged interacting with some of the hostages but said he only collected information about them such as email addresses so the captors could be in touch with their families to discuss ransoms.
Elsheikh, who Britain stripped of his nationality, denied ever torturing captives but acknowledged he did not always show them “compassion.”
Elsheikh was convicted of hostage-taking, conspiracy to murder US citizens — journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and relief workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller — and supporting a foreign terrorist organization.
Kotey, 38, pleaded guilty in September 2021 to similar charges and is facing life in prison.
Emwazi, the IS executioner known as “Jihadi John” who beheaded Foley, Sotloff and Kassig, was killed by a US drone in Syria in November 2015.
