A US federal court on Friday sentenced one of the members of a group of four IS kidnappers, nicknamed the “Beatles,” to life in prison.
The cell members’ nickname was given by people who were taken hostage. Having grown up in London, the four kidnappers have a thick British accent.
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Alexanda Kotey, a 38yearold former British citizen, pleaded guilty in September, admitting responsibility for the deaths of four American hostages in Syria and the kidnapping and torture of about 20 Westerners during the war in the country.
- The “Beatles” of the “Islamic State” are to be extradited to the USA
- The trial of one of the Islamic State’s “Beatles” in the US begins
The Islamic State reappears in Syria
Another member of this cell, El Shafee elSheikh, was arrested by Kurdish forces in 2018, was convicted in April after a grueling trial and will face sentences in the coming months.
The two men appeared Friday outside a courthouse in Alexandria, Washington, where family members of their victims could make a final plea for the floor.
“They abducted, tortured and participated in the murder of good and innocent people and now they have to live with that for the rest of their lives,” said Britishborn Bethany Haines, daughter of one of the victims. Her father was beheaded by a member of The Beatles.
During their time in Syria from 2012 to 2015, the trio oversaw the detention of at least 27 journalists from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Japan, New Zealand and Russia.
Ten of them were executed. Jihadists have often bragged about the dead in IS propaganda videos.