#El Shafee Elsheikh

[haggishlyhagging]

The two remaining members of [the ISIS terrorist cell] ‘the Beatles’, Davis and El Shafee Elsheikh, had a long history of involvement in gang culture before they went to Syria. 'Paul', as Davis became known by his victims in Aleppo, was born in Hammersmith where his father, who was from Gambia, had thirteen children with four different women. Davis spent part of his childhood with his grandmother in west Africa but settled in London at the age of seventeen, embarking on a life of selling drugs, joining a gang and acquiring a string of convictions for possession of drugs and firearms. He was a classic domestic abuser, fathering four children by two women, and abandoned his Moroccan wife Amal el-Wahabi when he went to Syria.

Davis had targeted el-Wahabi when he spotted her in tears at the mosque, sensing her vulnerability, only to dump her two months before the birth of their first child in 2009; he revived the relationship two years later and they had a second child, but Davis abandoned el-Wahabi again when he fled to join ISIS. As if she hadn't suffered enough, he then tried to pressurise her into bringing their children to Turkey, threatening to take another wife unless she made the trip. He also told el-Wahabi to start collecting money for ISIS, with disastrous results: when el-Wahabi attempted to trick a friend into smuggling the cash into Turkey on her behalf, she was arrested and tried for supporting a terrorist organisation. The judge, Nicholas Hilliard QC, told el-Wahabi that Davis had 'no true regard' for her and described her children, by now aged five and seventeen months, as ‘innocent victims’ of their parents. In August 2014, el-Wahabi was convicted and sent to prison for twenty-eight months, becoming the first person in the UK to be convicted of funding terrorism in Syria. By then her husband was on the way to becoming one of the world's most wanted men and would in time be accused, along with the other Beatles, of beheading almost thirty men.

-Joan Smith, Home Grown: How Domestic Violence Turns Men Into Terrorists

[gamboagarcia]

Gracias de antemano por sus comentarios Declaran culpable del secuestro y muerte de rehenes estadounidenses a yihadista de 'los Beatles' El acusado, a quien Reino Unido le retiró la ciudadanía, también enfrenta una posible cadena perpetua. Estados Unidos (VOA) - El Shafee Elsheikh, miembro de la notoria célula de secuestro y asesinato del Estado Islámico conocida como "los Beatles", fue declarado culpable de todos los cargos el jueves por la muerte de cuatro rehenes est... Sigue leyendo: https://www.adiario.mx/orbe/declaran-culpable-del-secuestro-y-muerte-de-rehenes-estadounidenses-a-yihadista-de-los-beatles/?feed_id=166124&_unique_id=66a5afa0ea40f

[michaelcosio]

Apr 14, 2022

A British national accused of taking a leading role in a scheme by so-called Islamic State has been found guilty.

El Shafee Elsheikh was one of a gang of four IS militants nicknamed the 'Beatles' by their captives, due to their British accents.

The jury deliberated for four hours before finding Elsheikh guilty on all counts.

[captainmdhridoyhossain-blog]

[ad_1] El Shafee Elsheikh is the ultimate of a gaggle of IS militants - referred to as the Beatles - to be dropped at justice. [ad_2] #Opening #statements #Beatle #jihadist #trial

[silvestromedia]

Inside hellhole prison where ISIS Beatles could be shut off from ALL contact with outside world for rest of their lives

[indizombie]

US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces say they have captured 700 foreign fighters from more than 40 nations, including the UK. The SDF has not said how many are British - or former British nationals - but it is believed to be fewer than a dozen. El Shafee Elsheikh and  Alexanda Kotey, who were captured in January, are believed to be part of an IS cell which became known as "the Beatles' by their hostages because of their UK accents. The two men were associated with another Briton, Mohammed Emwazi - also known as "Jihadi John". He was seen in a number of high profile IS execution videos that showed the beheading of Western hostages, including US and British citizens. Emwazi was killed in a US drone strike in Raqqa, Syria, in 2015.

Jonathan Beale, 'UK urged to take back Islamic State 'foreign fighters'', BBC

[lejournaldupeintre]

Two Daesh ‘Beatles’ to appear in US court to face charges

Two Daesh ‘Beatles’ to appear in US court to face charges

El Shafee Elsheikh (L) and Alexanda Kotey

Former British nationals El Shafee Elsheikh, 32, and Alexanda Kotey, 36, are accused of involvement in the murders of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller. They are also suspected of involvement in the deaths of two Britons, Alan Henning and David Haines, and several other hostages including…

[newsupdated]

U.S. charges Islamic State militants in deaths of American hostages

U.S. charges Islamic State militants in deaths of American hostages

Two Islamic State militants from Britain were brought to the United States on Wednesday to face charges in a gruesome campaign of torture, beheadings and other acts of violence against four Americans and others captured and held hostage in Syria, the Justice Department said.

El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey are two of four men who were called “the Beatles” by the hostages because of the…

[deepfinds-blog]

Fear of infuriating Trump made UK drop opposition to death penalty for British Isis suspects, court told

Fear of infuriating Trump made UK drop opposition to death penalty for British Isis suspects, court told

Sajid Javid “gave up” on attempts to ensure the US did not execute two British Isis militants because he feared sparking outrage in Donald Trump’s administration, a court has heard.

El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey, who were allegedly members of a cell dubbed “The Beatles” and who killed a series of hostages in Syria, have been the subject of a legal dispute between the US and…

[buddylistsocial]

British Gave U.S. Evidence Against ISIS ‘Beatles,’ Clearing Way for Trial

British Gave U.S. Evidence Against ISIS ‘Beatles,’ Clearing Way for Trial

WASHINGTON — The British government has transferred evidence to the United States against two notorious Islamic State detainees from Britain accused of playing a role in the torture and beheadings of Western hostages, apparently clearing the way for putting them on trial.

The transfer followed a ruling by the United Kingdom High Court on Tuesday rejecting a new legal challenge to the British…

[bighermie]

El Shafee Elsheikh, a member of the infamous ‘Jihadi Beatles,’ who assisted in the kidnap and murder of American citizens James Foley, Steven Sotloff, and Peter Kassig has been convicted on eight counts of hostage-taking and murder in Virginia today. Elsheikh, 33, was a member of the ISIS beheading squad that released gruesome propaganda videos…

[beardedmrbean]

FALLS CHURCH, Va. -- Defense lawyers for a British national facing trial later this month for helping the Islamic State group torture and behead American hostages are seeking to block testimony from a Kurdish girl held as a slave by the group.

The girl, identified only as Jane Doe in court documents, was abducted at age 15 from Kurdistan in August 2014 and held by the Islamic State. She spent several weeks in captivity with American Kayla Mueller, whose death at the hands of the Islamic State will be a key issue at trial.

The defendant, El Shafee Elsheikh, is charged with playing a key role in Mueller's abduction, ransom and eventual death, along with three other Americans: journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid worker Peter Kassig.

In court papers filed late Tuesday, Elsheikh's lawyers say Jane Doe was told after her abduction to forget about her family because she would be “selected for marriage” by an ISIS fighter.

Doe escaped, but she was caught the next morning and beaten with sticks, belts and hoses. It was then that she was taken to a prison, where Mueller was also held, according to the defense memo.

After a month, Doe, Mueller, and two other girls were taken into captivity by a senior ISIS leader named Abu Sayyaf, where they were locked in a bedroom other than when they were cleaning or gardening.

Doe escaped the home in October 2014 and made her way back into Kurdish custody. Information she provided helped U.S. fighters launch a raid in May 2015 that killed Abu Sayyaf and other ISIS fighters, according to the memo.

Mueller, who was killed in February 2015, was raped by the Islamic State’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, during her time in captivity, according to the indictment.

Inside the house, U.S. fighters recovered ISIS documents justifying slavery and guidelines for how it should be implemented.

Elsheikh's lawyers are seeking to keep the slavery documents from being introduced at trial, and want to severely limit Doe's testimony, restricting it only to her time in captivity with Mueller.

The evidence “is unduly inflammatory and would only cause undue prejudice against Mr. Elsheikh, confuse the issues, and mislead the jury by imputing the actions of others to Mr. Elsheikh,” defense lawyers Nina Ginsberg, Edward MacMahon and Jessica Carmichael wrote.

While Doe's testimony may not central to the case against Elsheikh, it provides a glimpse into some of the emotionally powerful evidence jurors will confront if the case indeed goes to trial at the end of the month.

Elsheikh is one of four British nationals who joined the Islamic State, dubbed “the Beatles” by their captives because of their accents. Elsheikh and a co-defendant, Alexenda Kotey, were captured in Syria in 2018 and brought to Virginia in 2020 to stand trial in federal court.

Kotey pleaded guilty last year and is awaiting sentencing. A third Beatle, Mohammed Emwazi, also known as “Jihadi John,” was killed in a 2015 drone strike. The fourth member was sentenced to prison in Turkey.

Federal prosecutors will respond to the defense memo about Jane Doe at a later date. So far, though, prosecutors have been successful in turning aside defense efforts to restrict evidence at trial. The presiding judge, T.S. Ellis III, ruled earlier this year that prosecutors can use incriminating statements Elsheikh made in interrogations and in media interviews. Defense lawyers argued unsuccessfully that the statements were coerced.

As for the slavery documents, defense lawyers argue that it would be unfair to ascribe them to Elsheikh because he did not write them. But in a 2018 interview with journalist Jenan Moussa after he was captured, Elsheikh said slavery was justified under Islamic law.

"Islamic texts have spoken about slavery and rights of a slave. There is a whole jurisprudence about slavery and the rights of slaves and the rights of slave owners,” he said in an interview.

[theamericanpatriotpage]

Will justice be served?

~ The Wolfdragon

[creepingsharia]

British ISIS jihadis linked to torturing, beheading 4 Americans in U.S. to face trial

Two of the 'ISIS Beatles' involved in the torture and execution of American hostages are en route to Washington D.C. to finally face charges

Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh are currently being transferred from US Custody in Iraq to mainland USA 

They are expected to make their first court appearance in Alexandria, Virginia, this afternoon as the Department of Justice announced charges

The pair are accused of playing a role in the executions of two dozen hostages, including four Americans 

They have claimed in the past they only ever tortured the hostages and didn't kill them 

British authorities have handed over evidence that will help the American prosecution of the pair 

AG Bill Barr has also agreed not to impose a death sentence on either man with the agreement of their victims's families 

They are half of a group of four British terrorists known as the ISIS Beatles  

Two ISIS fighters known as one half of the 'Beatles' terror group are on their way to the US to face charges for murdering American hostages in Syria and Iraq.

Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh are expected to make their first federal court appearance this afternoon in Alexandria, Virginia, an official from the Department of Justice told the Associated Press. 

The pair are both British but renounced their citizenship when they joined ISIS in Syria in 2014. 

They are accused by the State Department of murdering two dozen hostages including Americans James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller, and at least eight other hostages from different countries, including the UK. 

Foley and Sotloff were journalists working in the region and Kassig and Mueller were aid workers.  

The accused claim they took part in torturing them and extracting information but that they did not take part in their executions. 

In interviews while in detention, the two men admitted that they helped collect email addresses from Mueller that could be used to send out ransom demands. She was killed in 2015 after 18 months in ISIS captivity. 

The State Department, however, has said that Elsheikh and Kotey played a much more active role and it 2017, declared the pair specially designated global terrorists.

Specifically, the agency said Elsheikh 'was said to have earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions, and crucifixions while serving as an ISIS jailer'.

Kotey, according to the State Department, acted as an Islamic State recruiter and 'likely engaged in the group´s executions and exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shock and waterboarding'.

The expected court appearance Wednesday is a milestone in a years-long effort by US authorities to bring to justice members of a militant group known for beheadings and barbaric treatment of American aid workers, journalists and other hostages in Syria. 

James Foley and Steven Sotloff were both working as journalists in Syria when they were captured and killed by Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh

The two men admitted that they helped collect email addresses from Kayla Mueller (pictured left) that could be used to send out ransom demands. She was killed in 2015 after 18 months in ISIS captivity. Peter Kassig (pictured right) was also killed

Their arrival in the U.S. to face charges sets the stage for arguably the most sensational terrorism prosecution since the 2014 case against the suspected ringleader of a deadly attack on the diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. 

Elsheikh and Kotey have been held in US military custody in Iraq since October 2019, but the families of their American victims have long pleaded for them to be brought onto US soil to stand trial.

Mohamed Emwazi, aka Jihadi John, was the most prolific of the Beatles. He was killed in a US drone strike in 2016

British authorities were reluctant. 

They agreed to hand over evidence to the US that would help with a prosecution which was delivered two weeks ago. 

AG Bill Barr has also agreed not to impose a death sentence on either man with the agreement of their victims's families, who said they rather learn the truth of what happened to their loved ones through a trial. 

Neither of the men has been charged yet but charges may include conspiracy to commit murder, hostage-taking resulting in death, kidnapping resulting in death and homicide, according to Justice Department sources cited by The Washington Post on Tuesday.

Their trial is expected to take place in the federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.   

The most prominent member of the ISIS Beatles was Mohammed Emwazi, the hooded executioner known as Jihadi John who was filmed slicing the necks of some of the victims in sickening videos that terrified the world in 2014 when ISIS spread them. 

He was killed in a US drone strike in 2016. The fourth member is Aine Davis. He is being held in a Turkish prison on terror charges. 

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DOJ Press Release

DOJ Indictment (PDF)