Jihadi ‘Beatles’ mother holds up US lawsuit
THE mother of a jihadi who could face the death penalty in the US launched a legal bid yesterday to stop Britain handing over evidence that could be used to convict him.
Alexanda Kotey, 34, and Shafee Elsheikh, 30, members of IS gang dubbed the ‘Beatles’, face extradition from Syria to the US for trial.
Britain has agreed to help the US authorities without the usual assurance that they would not face the death penalty.
But the Home Office last night said it had paused its assistance following legal action by Elsheikh’s mother.
A spokesman said: ‘We received a request from the legal representative of the family of one of the suspects to pause the MLA [mutual legal assistance] response. We have agreed to a short-term pause.
‘The Government remains committed to bringing these people to justice and we are confident we have acted in full accordance of the law and within the Government’s MLA policy.’
The Government has not formally opposed the pair being sent to Guantanamo Bay.
Human rights lawyer Jean Gareth Peirce, representing Elsheikh’s mother, has written to Government lawyers saying she believed Home Secretary Sajid Javid’s decision to be unlawful and calling for a judicial review. The Home Office must respond to Miss Peirce’s letter before she can apply for a judicial review.
In a statement, she said: ‘The application raises questions of enormous constitutional importance, including the ability of a minister without reference to Parliament to agree to so com- plete a departure from a prohibition understood by all to have the status of constitutional certainty and without any public debate.’
Acts carried out by the jihadi Beatles gang include the murders of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, and American aid worker Peter Kassig. In 2014 and 2015, they held and tortured 20 hostages.
The Beatles pair were captured in January as they attempted to flee antiIslamic State forces and are currently being held in Syria.
For years, Britain has sought assurances from foreign governments that the death penalty would not be used in cases where the UK provided intelligence or extradited suspects for trial.
But a letter leaked on Monday revealed Mr Javid said Britain would share secret intelligence so the IS pair could be hauled before the US courts – and will not need ‘assurances’ that the pair will avoid the death penalty.
‘Decision is unlawful’