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Was killed on August 19, 2014: US journalist James Foley
Photo: Steven Senne/ AP/dpa
A member of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist militia cell, known as the Beatles, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a US court for his role in the killing of four US hostages in Syria.
El Shafee Elsheikh was sentenced to eight life terms after being found guilty in April of taking hostages, conspiring to murder US citizens and supporting a "terrorist group".
Judge TS Ellis, delivering the verdict in Alexandria, Virginia, said Elsheikh's behavior "can only be described as appalling, barbaric, brutal, callous and, of course, criminal."
Elsheikh, 34, showed no reaction during the sentencing hearing.
The 12-person jury found Elsheikh guilty of conspiracy to murder four American hostages.
The four hostages killed were journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and development workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.
Foley, Sotloff and Kassig were beheaded by "Beatles" member Mohammed Emwazi, aka "Jihadi John." IS published videos of the executions for propaganda purposes.
Mueller was raped repeatedly by then-IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before her death in Syria, US officials said.
The deaths of Foley, Sotloff and Kassig were confirmed in 2014, and Mueller's in early 2015.
Humanity »overshadowed« by hate
Former hostages and parents of the victims also testified in the two-week trial of the former British citizen.
"Hate completely overshadowed your humanity," said Foley's mother, Diane, who then burst into tears.
“I pity you.
I pray that your confinement will give you time to think.”
Elsheikh and another former Beatle, Alexanda Amon Kotey, were arrested by a Kurdish militia in Syria in January 2018 and handed over to US troops in Iraq.
In 2020, they were flown to the United States to be tried there.
Kotey pleaded guilty in September 2021 and was sentenced to life in prison in April.
Another suspected “Beatle”, Aine Davis, 38, was deported from Turkey to Great Britain last week and remanded in custody on “terrorism charges”.
The fourth Beatle, Mohammed Emwazi, who executed the hostages, was killed by a US drone in Syria in 2015.
The group's name "Beatles" goes back to the British accent of their members, who grew up in London.
The men are said to have held at least 27 foreigners hostage in Syria between 2012 and 2015, killing some of them.
atb/Reuters/AFP