The terrorist and member of the self-styled Islamic State (EI) that kidnapped the journalist from EL PERIÓDICO Marc Marginedas He has been sentenced to life imprisonment. The federal court in Alexandria, in the United States, has ruled that Alexandra Kotey38, from London, is jailed for life for participating in the kidnapping and murder of Western journalists and aid workers.
The British jihadist, known as one of the terrorist group’s ‘Beatles’, pleaded guilty last September to eight criminal charges related to the kidnapping, torture and beheading of up to four American hostages in Syria. Kotey showed no emotion during his statement or as his verdict was rendered. Judge Thomas Selby Ellis has described his actions as “heinous, violent and inhumane”.
Marginedas testified at the trial, explaining how the terrorists “hated” the countries to which the hostages belonged and how they starved and mistreated them. “They only fed us twice a day, sometimes they forgot about us,” he explained, adding that the jailers were “very, very, very cruel”. “They knew where to hit to inflict pain,” she pointed out.
Another member of the cell, El Shafee el-SheikhHe was tried in April. This August his sentence will be known. Both were arrested in 2018 by Syrian Kurdish forces.
The terrorist ‘Beatles’
Surviving hostages, including Marginedas, said Kotey, el-Sheikh and a third man, Mohammed Emwazi, made up the brutal unit known as the ‘Beatles’ because of their British accent. The death of the American journalists is attributed to this group james foley Y Steven Sotloffas well as cooperators Kayla Mueller Y Peter Cassig. They are also credited with the murder of British aid workers David Hayes Y Alan Henningand Japanese journalists Haruna Yukawa Y kenji goto.
Some of them were decapitated and disclosed the images, of great crudeness. Behind those filmed executions was Emwazi, known as ‘John the jihadist’, who would have died in a drone attack launched by the US in Syria in 2015.
A fourth man is also believed to be part of the terror cell. It would be about Aine Davisconvicted of being a senior member of a terrorist organization and currently imprisoned in Turkey.
“They succumbed to hate”
Before being sentenced, the IS members had to listen to the testimony of the survivors and the relatives of their victims, who have recounted the uncertainty they experienced while their loved ones were held captive. The judge forced el-Sheikh to be present in court to avoid family members having to repeat his painful testimony twice. “I haven’t been able to sleep well since my father was taken away. I wake up at night hearing him scream as he is being tortured by these men,” David Haines’ daughter, Bethany, told the BBC.
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At one point in the trial, el-Sheikh closed his eyes. That’s when Shirley Sotloff, Steven Sotloff’s mother, told him, “Please don’t close your eyes. Look at me. You have to.”
Previously, Michael Foley, brother of the executed reporter, said he felt sorry for the terrorists “for having succumbed to hatred” and remarked that he wanted them to “spend the rest of their time in prison to reflect.” Neither Kotey nor el-Sheikh, the two highest-profile IS members on trial in the US, showed any remorse for his actions.