El Shafee Elsheikh, a British Isis fighter who was convicted of involvement in a vast hostage-taking scheme that caused the deaths of British, American and Japanese hostages, has been sentenced to life in prison.
Elsheikh, 34, was found guilty of eight charges, including hostage-taking resulting in death, conspiracy to murder US citizens outside of the United States and conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, following a federal trial in April.
The Sudanese-born Londoner was part of an Isis hostage-taking cell operating in Syria that was dubbed the Beatles by their captives. Elsheikh travelled to Syria from the UK in 2012. He first joined an affiliate of al-Qaeda, and then later Isis, where he played a key role in an Isis hostage-taking operation.
That kidnapping scheme led to the killing of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig. The conviction also holds him responsible for the deaths of British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, and Japanese journalists Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto.
Judge Thomas Selby Ellis delivered the verdict on Friday as family members of the victims watched on.
“The behaviour of this defendant and his co-defendant can only be described as horrific barbaric, brutal and callous,” Judge Ellis said.
“This is a significant episode in the history of our country and our justice system,” he added.
Diane Foley, the mother of James Foley, addressed Elsheikh directly in court as she read her impact statement ahead of the sentencing.
“Today is the eighth anniversary of Jim’s gruesome beheading. Knowing Jim, my suffering and that of our entire family would have given him his deepest pain,” she said. “However, Jim would also want you both to know that your hate-filled crimes did not win. James Wright Foley lives on.”
“This trial has revealed the horrific human rights crimes you committed while part of Isis,” she said. “Your hatred overtook your humanity.
“You have been held accountable for your depravity (and) … you will spend the rest of your life in prison, but you too have lost. You have lost your citizenship, your country … your family,” she added.
Throughout the trial, the jury heard evidence from former hostages, families of his victims, another former Isis fighter and US officials who interviewed Elsheikh following his capture.
The so-called Beatles, whom the prosecution named as Elsheikh, Alexanda Kotey and Mohammed Emwazi, were accused of at least 26 kidnappings in Syria between 2012 and 2015, most of them westerners. Emwazi, who was killed in a drone strike in 2015, was thought to be the ringleader of the group and carried out the executions of hostages.
Kotey pleaded guilty in September 2021 to his involvement in the murders of Foley, Sotloff, Meuller and Kassig, and was handed a lifetime prison sentence by a US judge earlier this year.
