Trump could send the two IS Beatles to Guantanamo
The Trump White house is considering sending two British jihadists who were part of the ‘Beatles’ terror cell to Guantanamo Bay.
US officials want to send the londoners to the notorious American-run prison in Cuba where they could be held for years without trial.
The development further questions Britain’s willingness to allow the extradition of Alexanda Kotey and Shafee el- Sheikh, who are currently being held by Kurdish forces in northern Syria.
Their fate became a political row when it emerged that the UK government is not seeking assurances from the US that they will be spared the death penalty.
last month home Secretary Sajid Javid ordered a ‘pause’ in cooperation with the US over their possible extradition.
NBC news reported that weeks ago the US submitted a waiver to Mr Javid asking him to allow the two men to be turned over to their custody.
Part of the waiver says that they could be eligible for the death penalty, two former administration officials and a Western diplomat said.
Kotey and el- Sheikh are part of a group of several hundred former is fighters who were captured by the SDF, a Kurdish militia.
The group does not have the manpower or facilities to hold them long-term and the US is trying to send them to their home nations for justice, but they are struggling.
Britain stripped the two men of their UK citizenship rather than allow them to return home and has been negotiating with the US ever since. A spokesman for the national Security Council said that ‘all options will be considered’ for detaining terrorist suspects.
The spokesman said: ‘The president and his national security team will pursue the option that best protects the national security interests of the United States’. Pentagon spokesman Commander Sean Robertson said that individuals could be sent to Guantanamo if they present a ‘ continuing, significant threat to the security of the United States’. The most infamous ‘Beatle’ was Mohammed emwazi, othwerise known as ‘ Jihadi John’, who was seen on brutal propaganda videos beheading and torturing prisoners.
The cell got their nickname because of their British accents. Among their known victims were Britons Alan henning and david haines and Americans James Foley and Steven Sotloff.
emwazi was killed in a 2015 drone strike.
The fourth Beatle, Aine lesley davis, is languishing in a Turkish prison. Guantanamo Bay was opened by the US after the September 11 attacks and around 800 prisoners have passed through its doors since then. Currently around 40 remain, despite promises by President Obama to close it down. Some have been held for more than a decade without trial.