Thrown into US jail, jihadi Beatles fly in to face justice
TWO ex-British Islamic State fanatics known as ‘ the Beatles’ were in an American jail last night after finally being charged with a litany of repulsive crimes.
Alexanda Kotey, 37, and El Shafee Elsheikh, 32, both from London, were airlifted from an Iraqi prison yesterday morning where they have been since last year.
The top secret operation saw them spirited to the US, where they could spend the rest of their lives in a ‘supermax’ prison if they are convicted for their alleged roles in killing four Western hostages in Syria.
Only after they were in the air did the US Justice Department announce the pair had been charged, unsealing an indictment containing gruesome details of their alleged involvement in Isis depravity.
Some of those slaughtered were beheaded and videos of their barbaric killings were released online.
Kotey and Elsheikh were last night due to make their first appearance in a US federal courtroom after touching down near Washington DC.
Evidence from British security services will play a crucial role in what is set to be one of the most shocking terror trials in years.
FBI director Christopher Wray told a Washington press conference: ‘We mourn not only our American victims but also the
‘Unimaginable cruelty of Isis’
British victims David Haines and Alan Henning, and victims of all nations who suffered unimaginable cruelty at the hands of Isis.’
The 24-page indictment sets out Kotey and Elsheikh’s alleged involvement in physical and psychological violence against US hostages James Wright Foley, Kayla Jean Mueller, Steven Joel Sotloff, and Peter Edward Kassig between 2012 and 2015.
British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning were also killed but their deaths do not feature in the charges because US courts only deal with crimes against Americans.
The pair will be tried in the US due to a better chance of conviction, but Mr Haines’s daughter Bethany told the Daily Telegraph: ‘I’m happy for the Foleys, Muellers and Sotloffs, because we are all connected, but it’s bittersweet for us.’
‘The victims were British, the evidence was from Britain. [I’m] disappointed my dad wasn’t named in charges.’ Mr Haines’ brother Mike added: ‘I, like the other families, am relieved that the fate of these two men is closer to being decided but this is just the beginning.’ In Washington, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said: ‘Kotey and Elsheikh – like many other terrorists before them – have underestimated American resolve to obtain justice for our fellow citizens harmed or killed by terrorists anywhere in the world.’
He said US Attorney General Bill Barr offered Britain ‘his sincerest gratitude for their unwavering commitment to the pursuit of justice’.
Other members of the ‘ Isis Beatles’ included Mohammed Emwazi, the ringleader also known as ‘Jihadi John’ who was killed in a US air strike in 2015, and Aine Davis, who is in jail in Turkey. Hostages called them The Beatles due to their English accents. A ban on UK evidence being shared with US prosecutors was lifted by the Supreme Court in London in August after Washington gave assurances that the pair would not face the death penalty.
Both have already been stripped of their British citizenship and are banned from returning to the country. They were captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces in January 2018 and moved to a US air base in Iraq last year.