ISIS 'Beatle' El Shafee Elsheikh sentenced to life in prison for his role in the torture and murders of four American hostages.
Cameras are set up outside the U.S. District Courthouse before the sentencing of El Shafee Elsheikh in Alexandria, Va., Friday, Aug. 19, 2022. Elsheikh was convicted on April 14, 2022 of kidnapping and murdering freelance journalist James Foley as well as participating in the detention and murders of Steven Sotloff, Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig, all in 2014.
He is the most notorious and highest-ranking member of the Islamic State group to ever be convicted in a U.S. Court, prosecutors said Friday at his sentencing hearing in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. The life sentence was a foregone conclusion after a jury convicted him of hostage taking resulting in death and other crimes earlier this year.
The convictions carried a mandatory life sentence. The U.S. agreed not to pursue death sentence as part of a deal that ensured extradition of Elsheikh and his friend, Alexanda Kotey, who has already been sentenced to life. Ottosen was particularly close to Foley, and memorized a goodbye letter that Foley wrote to his family so he could dictate it to Foley's parents when he was released.
At trial, surviving hostages testified that they dreaded the Beatles’ appearance at the various prisons to which they were constantly shuttled and relocated. Elsheikh and the other Beatles played a key role in the hostage negotiations, getting hostages to email their families with demands for payments.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Member of 'ISIS Beatles' given eight life sentences for role in hostage-taking, killing of AmericansEl Shafee Elsheikh, a British ISIS fighter and member of the execution cell dubbed 'the ISIS Beatles' because of their British accents, was sentenced to life in prison Friday for his role in the hostage-taking and deaths of four Americans and several others.
Read more »
‘Getting Back’ with the Beatles - Fifty Plus LifeLaurie Stone spent a week watching all eight (!) hours of Get Back, the Disney documentary on one of the Beatles’ last recording sessions.
Read more »
Man gets 5 life terms for killing 5 in the San Fernando Valley in 2014“To call him evil seems inadequate,” the judge said, saying the defendant “went out to hunt people” and that the cruelty he exhibited “defies explanation.”
Read more »
US traffic deaths, once in decline, continue to rise in 2022Roadway deaths rose 7% during the first three months of this year to 9,560 people, the highest number for a first quarter in two decades, according to estimates by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Read more »
Charles Stepney built lasting cathedrals inside Black music - Chicago Reader'Because Stepney died in 1976 at the tragically young age of 45, the world didn’t get to hear the music he made himself. During his lifetime, he never saw the recognition he brought to others.' | ReclaimedSoul
Read more »
Fewer GI Docs, More Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease DeathsPeople are more likely to die of ALD when there are fewer gastroenterologists in their state, researchers say. LiverTwitter GastroTwitter
Read more »