The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Terrorist tells of last words
The daughter of a British aid worker murdered by an Islamic State terror cell known as “The Beatles” because its core members had English accents, has learned of her father’s final plea to his captors before being put to death.
Bethany Haines said her dad David had asked ringleader Mohammed Emwazi, known as Jihadi John, to “make it quick” when he was led away to be murdered in 2014.
She said her father’s final wish was recalled to her during a two-hour face-toface meeting with Londoner Alexanda Kotey in Virginia, US, where he was jailed in April for his part in the torture and murder of western hostages.
Ms Haines said: “Kotey told me that Jihadi John had been away to execute my father and my father knew what was coming, closed his eyes, and said: ‘Can you make it quick?’
“I can picture him saying that, in his orange jumpsuit, with his eyes closed.
“I can picture him saying ‘Please make it quick.”’
His remains have never been discovered.
She said Kotey told her that he had been following her father for a couple of days before abducting him, and apologised to her for his role in the murder.
Ms Haines said: “I asked for an apology.
“I pressed on with it and eventually he did say ‘I am sorry for’ – he just used my words for it – ‘abducting and hurting your dad’. “Did he mean it? No.” Ms Haines said Kotey also revealed that her father’s death was delayed to give his killers time to film from different angles for their gruesome propaganda video, which sent shockwaves around the world.
Mr Haines, from Perth, was captured by militants in Syria in March 2013 while delivering aid to the war-torn country.
Kotey was handed a life sentence for his part in the plot to kill American hostages. He may yet be brought back to the UK to be charged with the deaths of other hostages, including Mr Haines.
Kotey’s co-defendant, El Shafee Elsheikh, will be sentenced in August for his role in the plot.
Jihadi John was killed in a drone strike in 2015, while another member of the cell, Aine Davis, also known as Jihadi Paul,was jailed in Turkey in 2017.