A former British citizen, a member of Islamic State, was convicted in US (Virginia) on Thursday. El Shafee Elsheikh, the convict, was member of Islamic State terrorist cell nicknamed “The Beatles” for their British accents. He took part in the infamous Islamic State hostage-taking plot that led to the beheading of American journalists and aid workers.
ElSheikh’s trial went on for six-week and the jury took four hours to deliberate before declaring him guilty. The trial saw testimonies from some former hostages who were released by the “Beatles” after long negotiations. They spoke about the torture they endured. Family members of the deceased victims also testified.
Elsheikh was born in Sudan and raised in London. His British citizenship was withdrawn in 2018. He was accused of killing four American hostages: James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.
Foley and Sotloff were journalists while Kassig was an aid worker. These men were killed in videotaped beheadings. The US officials have said that Kayla Mueller was raped repeatedly by Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. She died in Syria.
Another of the cell’s members, Alexanda Kotey, was held in Iraq by the US military before being flown to the United States to face trial. Kotey pleaded guilty last September to the murders of Foley, Sotloff, Mueller and Kassig.
During opening arguments in the U.S. trial, Elsheikh’s lawyer Ed MacMahon called him a “simple ISIS fighter” and tried to cast doubt on whether he was one of the “Beatles.” The captors wore masks and had similar accents, making it difficult for hostages to identify them, he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
