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The FBI has announced charges against two suspected British terrorists accused of being part of a “notoriously brutal” Islamic State cell known as “The Beatles.”
Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, both in their 30s and from West London, reportedly belonged to the executioners’ cell in Syria, known as “The Beatles” because of their British accent.
Alexanda Kotey (left) and Shafee Elsheikh are in FBI custody
John Demers, assistant attorney general for homeland security, announced the charges during a press conference in the United States on Wednesday.
He said: “The defendants are charged with terrorism offenses related to the hostage-taking and murder of four Americans, as well as citizens of Great Britain and Japan.”
Demers added that he was “pleased” to confirm that Kotey and Elsheikh are in the custody of the FBI and must appear in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia.
The couple will now appear in court to “face justice for the depraved acts alleged against them in the indictment,” he added.
If convicted, they face life in prison.
Alan Henning was a 47-year-old humanitarian worker from Lancashire.
Kotey and Elsheikh are said to be responsible for the deaths of several Western captives, including British Alan Henning and David Haines.
Haines’ brother Mike told Sky News: “The Haines family, along with all the families of the victims, are pleased to see this step forward in the court system.”
The couple are also accused of killing US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and humanitarian workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig. Their families welcomed the charges.
“Now our families can pursue accountability for these crimes against our children in a United States court,” they said in a statement.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted: “We welcome the transfer of the ‘Beatles’ from ISIS to the United States for trial in a court of law.
“The United States will not rest until these suspected terrorists are held accountable for their crimes and justice is served for the families of their victims.”
The militant IS group is notorious for the beheadings and barbaric treatment of aid workers, journalists and other hostages in Syria.
Many of these executions were filmed and broadcast around the world in graphic detail.
The two were captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces in January 2018 and transferred to US military custody in Iraq in October 2019, having remained there ever since.
David Haines was beheaded in Syria in 2014 after being imprisoned for 18 months.
Haines, a 44-year-old former aeronautical and humanitarian engineer from Perth, Scotland, was beheaded in Syria in 2014 after being imprisoned for 18 months.
Henning, a 47-year-old humanitarian worker from Lancashire, was also beheaded in 2014 after being captured by extremists in Syria.
Their deaths, and several others, were filmed and used for propaganda by extremists.
The head of the cell was said to be Mohammed Emwazi, known as Jihadi John, who was killed in a US airstrike in 2015.
The fourth member of the group, Aine Davis, was later imprisoned in Turkey.
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US Attorney General William P. Barr said: “These charges are the product of many years of hard work in seeking justice for our citizens killed by ISIS.
“Although we cannot bring them back, we can and will seek justice for them, their families, and for all Americans.
“Our message to other terrorists around the world is this: If they harm Americans, they will face American weapons on the battlefield or American law in our courtrooms.
“Either way, you will be persecuted to the ends of the earth until justice is served.”
Demers was asked to confirm that the United States adhered to its decision do not seek the death penalty for the couple.
“I think the attorney general made it very clear in his letters to the secretary of the interior, who decided together that we were not going to pursue the death penalty in this case and that is where we are,” he added.
In August, Barr pledged to make it easier for UK courts to allow UK authorities to share information with state prosecutors.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said: “These suspected terrorists grew up in the UK, where they became radicalized.
“His role within the terrorist organization ISIS was to be part of a brutal hostage-taking scheme in which American, European and Asian citizens were held hostage between approximately 2012 and 2015.”
He said that “his vicious acts and those of the co-conspirators” allegedly included forced witnessing of murders, mock executions, electric shocks with tasers and beatings, among other brutal acts.
Demers was asked how important it was to obtain British evidence for the case, as a High Court ruling last month allowed the UK to share information from the case with US authorities.
He told reporters: “We decided that if we were going to make this case, we were going to tell the fullest story that we could of what these defendants did and we were going to make the strongest case possible. And with the British evidence I think we can do it very well. “
