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For the first time a member of the “Beatles” ISIS Group — 33-year-old El Shafee Elsheikh also known as Jihadi George — is standing trial in a US courtroom on charges of hostage-taking and conspiracy to murder. He denies the charges.
Four British citizens left their homes to join ISIS in Syria and were dubbed the “The Beatles” by their captives because of their British accents.
Prosecutors say Mr Elsheikh was “utterly terrifying” and that abuse carried out to detainees was “unrelenting and unpredictable”.
The case being tried in Virginia is focused on his alleged role in the murder of four Americans: journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig.
He is also being held responsible for the deaths of British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning.
Mr Elsheikh was born in Sudan and grew up in Shepherd’s Bush, west London — he is the most senior ISIS figure to face the US justice system to date.
The ISIS member was captured by Syrian Democratic Forces in January 2018 and handed over to the US authorities. The gang’s leader, Jihadi John, was killed in Syria in 2015 by a US drone strike.
The third Beatle, Alexanda Kotey, pleaded guilty to the murders of the journalists and aid workers. He will be sentenced next month. The final group member, Aine Lesley Davis, was convicted of terrorism charges in Turkey in 2017.
Prosecutor John Gibbs told the court that Mr Elsheikh “played a central role in a brutal hostage-taking scheme”.
He said: “In a prison called ‘the desert’, 26 Western hostages were held. You will hear from some of them. All said the three British men who held them were utterly terrifying. The abuse was unrelenting and unpredictable. They seemed to enjoy beating the hostages.”
Diane Foley, the mother of journalist James Foley beheaded by Jihadi John, told the Independent: “It’s taken a lot to bring these men here and I’m hoping that it’ll send a message. I know it’s only one step, but to me it’s a big step.”
Defence lawyer Edward MacMahon told jurors that the “Beatles” all shared similar British accents and characteristics, thus discrepancies in the testimony of released hostages mean Mr Elsheikh cannot be conclusively identified as a member of the terrorist cell.
Mr MacMahon said any admissions made to media in captivity were made under duress because Mr Elsheikh feared he would be hanged in Iraq for admitting to being an ISIS fighter.
The parents of all four American victims and the daughter of a British aid worker sat a few feet away from the accused. The Independent report that they appeared emotional when details of their son’s or daughter’s captivity were revealed to the court.
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