In an announcement by the Justice Department on Wednesday, two nationals of Britain, who had joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), are being charged for their role in the torture and killings of various western hostages, some of which included American citizens.
The individuals, El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Amon Kotey are currently in FBI custody and anticipated to be arriving within-country soon. This, as stated in an official statement by the Justice Department.
The two men, members of a terror cell known as “The Beatles,” due to their British accents, are expected to see the inside of a US courtroom later in the day Wednesday. The charges the pair will be facing include hostage-taking, which resulted in death, conspiracy to commit hostage-taking, which resulted in death, and conspiracy to aid and provide material support to terrorists that resulted in death.
The two ISIS members, who were allegedly interpreters for their ISIS cell, are also believed to have been involved in both the mental and physical abuse of four American hostages: James Wright Foley, Kayla Jean Mueller, Steven Joel Sotloff, and Peter Edward Kassig. According to documents obtained from the court, the two men were responsible for and participated in the hostage negotiations conducted over email from November 2013 to February 2015 for several Western prisoners.
Through the intended trial of the two men, Attorney General William P Barr said: “Our message to other terrorists around the world is this—if you harm Americans, you will face American arms on the battlefield or American law in our courtrooms. Either way, you will be pursued to the ends of the earth until justice is done.”
The duo was originally captured in January 2018 by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) during the region’s collapse of ISIS control. They have since been transferred from Turkey to the US to stand trial.
The men are half of an ISIS cell dubbed “The Beatles,” by their hostages, as the men spoke with British accents. Both men have reportedly been officially stripped of their citizenship in the UK.
If Kotey and Elsheikh are found guilty, they could possibly face a prison term of life.
Do you think that “The Beatles” will, in fact, see the inside of a US courtroom?