El Shafee el-Sheikh, nicknamed “Jihadi George”, who was arrested by Syrian Kurdish forces in January 2018 was sentenced to life imprisonment by a US court on Friday.
What El Shafie el-Sheikh did “can only be described as horrible, barbaric, brutal, cruel and of course criminal”. The jihadist, who was a member of Daesh from 2012 to 2015, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the US on Friday.
Statement by Assistant Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco on El Shafee El-Sheikh’s sentencinghttps://t.co/Uudpz5vIWc pic.twitter.com/Vqjmotkjep
— Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) August 19, 2022
El Shafee el-Sheikh, 34, was a member of Daesh’s “Beatles” group in a cell specialized in the capture, torture and execution of Western hostages in Syria. The nickname “Beatles” was given to him by his prisoners as they all had a thick British accent. According to a former Spanish hostage, he was “Jihadi George” because “the craziest, the most brutal”.
A serious face
From his trial to the delivery of the verdict, the man remained completely impartial to testimony and testimony from federal judge TS Ellis.
Wearing large glasses and a black mask while sporting a beard, he was sentenced to eight concurrent life sentences for the murders of four Americans: journalist James Foley, Steven Sotloff, and aides Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.
El Shafee el-Sheikh was arrested by Syrian Kurdish forces in January 2018 and stripped of his British citizenship in 2020 after the American judiciary promised he would not be sentenced to death.
He denied having been just a subordinate to the jihadist group. Yet all testimonies describe him as the leader. “He decided who should live or die,” testified a Spanish journalist. El Shafee el-Sheikh tortured his victims with electric shocks, deprivation of food or sleep, and simulated drowning, according to the same source.
“This trial exposed the horrific human rights crimes you committed,” said Diane Foley, mother of a beheaded journalist. “I’m sorry El Sheikh that you chose hate,” she added.
During his capture, Alexanda Kotey, aka “Ringo”, pleaded guilty to the charges against him. In April 2022, he was also sentenced to life imprisonment by the same judge.