US court finds ISIS member guilty of murdering hostages

Robert Besser
16 Apr 2022, 22:45 GMT+10

A U.S. jury has convicted a former British citizen for the beheading of American journalists and aid workers.
A federal jury in Alexandria, Virginia, found El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, guilty on all charges.
The jury concluded that Elsheikh, who was born in Sudan and raised in London, was part of the ISIS group that beheaded American hostages in Iraq and Syria.

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia: A U.S. jury has convicted a former British citizen for the beheading of American journalists and aid workers when he was a member of the Islamic State.

A federal jury in Alexandria, Virginia, found El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, guilty on charges that include lethal hostage-taking and conspiracy to commit murder, following a six-week trial and four hours of jury deliberations.

The jury concluded that Elsheikh, who was born in Sudan and raised in London, was part of the ISIS group that beheaded American hostages in Iraq and Syria.

During the trial, former hostages testified during the trial about the torture they endured, along with family members of murdered victims.

While charges against Elsheikh carry a potential death sentence, U.S. prosecutors promised British officials they would not seek the death penalty against Elsheikh, whose British citizenship was withdrawn in 2018.

Elsheikh was accused of conspiring to kill American hostages James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.

Another ISIS member, Alexanda Kotey, was held in Iraq by the American military before being flown to the U.S. to face trial. Last September, he pleaded guilty to the murders of Foley, Sotloff, Mueller and Kassig.

During opening arguments, Elsheikh's lawyer, Ed MacMahon, called him a "simple ISIS fighter" and tried to cast doubt on whether he participated in the murders.

"It was horrific and senseless. None of that is in dispute. What is in dispute, and what you must decide, is whether Elsheikh bears any legal responsibility," MacMahon said.