Mother of IS terror suspect loses court fight over US prosecution

THE MOTHER of a suspected IS terrorist has lost a High Court challenge against Home Secretary Priti Patel’s decision to share evidence about her son with US authorities.

Maha Elgizouli, whose son El Shafee Elsheikh is in US custody with his co- accused Alexanda

Kotey, brought a judicial review earlier this month over Ms Patel’s decision on August 24 to provide material to the American government under a “mutual legal assistance ( MLA)” request, ahead of an intended prosecution in the US.

Elsheikh and Kotey are accused of belonging to a cell of executioners in Syria – nicknamed The Beatles because of their British accents – responsible for killing a number of Western captives.

At a hearing in London on September 11, Ms Elgizouli’s lawyers argued Ms Patel’s decision was unlawful as it was incompatible with the Data Protection Act ( DPA).

They said the transfer of the evidence was “not strictly necessary” as it was made at a time when the Director of Public Prosecutions ( DPP) was due to make a decision “imminently” about whether there was enough evidence to prosecute Elsheikh in the UK – which US authorities previously indicated a preference for.

But in a ruling, Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Garnham rejected the case, saying it was “not properly arguable”.

As a result of the ruling, the evidence requested can now be handed over to the US authorities by the UK Government. Elsheikh and Kotey, who were raised in the UK but have been stripped of their British citizenship, were captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces in January 2018.