Mother of IS Beatles suspect loses bid to halt help for US trial
THE mother of a suspected IS terrorist has lost her High Court bid to stop Britain sharing evidence about her son with US authorities.
El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey are accused of belonging to a cell of executioners in Syria – dubbed The Beatles because of their British accents – who were responsible for killing Western captives.
At a hearing in London on September 11, lawyers for Elsheikh’s mother, Maha Elgizouli, said that Home Secretary Priti Patel’s decision ahead of a possible trial in the US was incompatible with the Data Protection Act.
They said the transfer of the evidence under “mutual legal assistance” was “not strictly necessary” as a decision was due about prosecuting Elsheikh in the UK.
Yesterday Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Garnham said the case was “not properly arguable” and location of prosecution had “no relevance”.
Dame Victoria said: “The conclusion that, even if Mr Elsheikh could be prosecuted in England, it would still be necessary and proportionate to transfer the data to the US authorities remained a conclusion properly open to the Secretary of State.”
The hearing was held urgently as the US indicated the pair will be tried in Iraq – where they could be executed – if it does not receive the UK evidence by October 15. But it can now be sent.
Elsheikh and Kotey lost their UK citizenship and are being held by the US in Iraq.