Attorney General William Barr has told the United Kingdom he will not seek the death penalty against two members of the British Islamic State ‘execution team’ if they are extradited to the US
El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Amon Kotey, from a group nicknamed “The Beatles” for their British accents, are accused of holding more than 20 Western hostages in 2014 and 2015, torturing many of them. The group is suspected of beheading seven American, British and Japanese journalists and aid workers, as well as a group of Syrian soldiers, with video evidence of the slaughter to the rest of the world.
In a letter to Home Affairs Minister Priti Patel dated Thursday, Barr said that if the United Kingdom granted the extradition request of Elsheikh and Kotey, the US would not seek the death penalty and would not carry out executions if imposed.
RADICAL ISLAMIC CLERIC ACCUSED OF REECRUITING FOR ISIS EXTRADITED TO NYC ON TERRORISM CHARGES
In 2015, the US filed a request for legal assistance for evidence regarding the alleged crimes of Elsheikh and Kotey in possession of the United Kingdom. In 2018, the UK stripped the ‘Beatles’ members of their British citizenship and concluded prosecution in the US legal system would be “the best approach to securing justice”, according to Barr. Barr said the US did not yet need the evidence to continue with prosecution and urged the UK to provide it. “Time is of the essence” if IS members are to be visited in the US, according to Barr.
Elsheikh and Kotey are currently being held by U.S. military authorities abroad, and Barr said it was “untenable to keep them there any longer.” They are currently being held in a third country under the terms of the “Law of War.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The pair were captured by Kurdish troops in January amid the collapse of ISIS. ‘The Beatles’ are suspected of beheading James Foley, the first American citizen killed by ISIS, Steven Sotloff and Peter Kassig. The videos of her beheading shocked the world when ISIS took over much of Iraq and Syria in 2014.
