Terror charges
Islamic State ‘Beatles’ taken to US over deaths of hostages
CHARGES are expected to be announced against two British suspected terrorists who allegedly beheaded Western hostages.
The US Justice Department was yesterday preparing to announce the criminal charges against Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, both in their 30s and from west London.
It is anticipated that they will make their first appearance in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.
Kotey and Elsheikh are being held over the killings of British and US citizens which were among many filmed and beamed around the world in graphic detail by the so-called Islamic State terror group.
They are accused of belonging to a cell of executioners in Syria, known as The Beatles because of their British accents, and are said to be responsible for killing a number of Western captives, including Britons Alan Henning and David Haines.
The pair were captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces in January 2018 and transferred to the custody of the US military in Iraq in October 2019, remaining there ever since.
Last month, families of the men allegedly killed by the pair welcomed news they were likely to face trial in the US after a High Court ruling allowed the UK to share case information with US authorities, describing the decision as a “huge result for us”.
After the ruling British Home Secretary Priti Patel announced that “further evidence to support the prosecution” of the two men was “finally” sent to America.
Former aircraft engineer and humanitarian Mr Haines (44), from Perth in Scotland, was beheaded in Syria in 2014 after being held prisoner for 18 months.
Cab driver-turned-aid worker Mr Henning (47), from Lancashire, was also beheaded in 2014 after being captured by
Killings were filmed and beamed around the world in graphic detail
extremists in Syria.
Their deaths, and several others, were filmed and used for propaganda by extremists.
The cell’s ringleader was said to have been Mohammed Emwazi, known as Jihadi John, who was killed in a US air strike in 2015. The group’s fourth member, Aine Davis, was later jailed in Turkey.
The prospect of a criminal trial increased after Elsheikh’s mother, Maha Elgizouli, last month lost a judicial review as she sought to prevent evidence against her son and his coaccused being sent to the US.
Ms Elgizouli’s lawyers had unsuccessfully argued Ms Patel’s earlier decision was unlawful as it was incompatible with the Data Protection Act, and asked the court to order that no material should be provided to the US.
They said the transfer of the evidence was “not strictly necessary” as it was made at a time when the Director of Public Prosecutions was due to make a decision about whether there was enough evidence to prosecute Elsheikh in the UK.