A jury on Thursday convicted British national El Shafee Elsheikh for his role in an Islamic State (ISIS) group hostage-taking scheme that took roughly two dozen Westerners captive a decade ago, resulting in the deaths of four Americans, three of whom were beheaded, The Associated Press reported.
In convicting El Shafee Elsheikh, the jury concluded that he was one of the notorious ISIS “Beatles” who tortured and beat prisoners before beheading them.
The ISIS cell was nicknamed “The Beatles” by surviving captives because of their English accents.
The guilty finding came even though none of the surviving hostages could identify Elsheikh as one of their captors. Although the Beatles had distinctive accents, they always took great care to hide their faces behind masks and ordered hostages to avoid eye contact or risk a beating.
Prosecutors suggested in opening statements that Elsheikh was the Beatle nicknamed “Ringo” but only had to prove that Elshiekh was one of the Beatles because testimony showed that all three were major players in the scheme.
Elsheikh, who was captured by the Kurdish-led Syrian defense Forces in 2018, eventually confessed his role in the scheme to interrogators as well as media interviewers, according to AP.
Elsheikh and another member of the “Beatles”, Alexanda Kotey, were brought to the United States in 2020 to face charges.
The group's leader, Mohammed Emwazi who was known as “Jihadi John, was killed in an air strike in 2015 in Syria after an intensive manhunt.
A fourth member of the so-called “Beatles”, Aine Davis, is imprisoned in Turkey on terrorism charges.
The convictions on all eight counts in US District Court in Alexandria revolved around the deaths of four American hostages: American journalist James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.
“The Beatles” are also believed to be behind the beheadings of British aid workers David Haines and Allan Henning, and Japanese hostage Kenji Goto.
Defense lawyers acknowledged that Elsheikh joined the Islamic State group but said prosecutors failed to prove he was a Beatle. They cited a lack of clarity about which Beatle was which, and back in the trial’s opening statement cited the confusion about whether there were three or four Beatles.
Kotey pleaded guilty last year in a plea bargain that calls for a life sentence but leaves open the possibility that he could serve out his sentence in the United Kingdom after 15 years in the US
Kotey will be formally sentenced April 29. Elsheikh will be sentenced August 12.