El Shafee Elsheikh
(Picture: AP)A London-born Islamic State fighter accused of being part of the notorious ‘Beatles’ terror cell allegedly dished out “going-away beatings” to hostages who were about to be released, a US court has heard.
El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, is accused of playing a leading role in the “utterly terrifying” group which held more than 20 Westerners captive and executed several in gruesome videos broadcast to the world.
He allegedly took pleasure in brutalising the hostages in IS-controlled territory in Iraq and Syria, alongside fellow Londoners Mohammed Elwazi – dubbed “Jihadi John” – and Alexenda Kotey.
The group were nicknamed “The Beatles” by their prisoners due to their British accents, and Elsheikh was allegedly known as “Ringo”, the court heard. However Elsheikh denies leading the terror cell and insists he was merely an IS foot soldier.
Prosecutor John Gibbs told jurors on Wednesday they will hear from former hostages who describe waterboarding and other forms of torture, and who say Elsheikh and his fellow Brits were more likely than regular guards to dish out beatings.
He said hostages who were due for release after ransoms had been paid would endure “going-away beatings”, while a European hostage was subjected to 25 blows after the captors discovered it was his 25th birthday.
"If a hostage looked at any of the three men, they would be beaten”, said Mr Gibbs. "In fact, they did not have to do anything to be beaten."
US journalists James Foley, 40, and Steven Sotloff, 31, American aid workers Peter Kassig, 26, and Kayla Mueller, 26, and British aid workers, David Haines, 44, and Alan Henning, 47, were all among the hostages captured by Islamic State between 2012 and 2015.
The men were all executed and Ms Mueller was held as a sex slave for IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before she was killed.
The court heard how hostages were held in IS prisons known as "the Dungeon", "the Mansion", "the Box", and "the Bed and Breakfast". They describe receiving lashings for disobeying their captors, endured mock executions, and say Elsheikh appeared to “enjoy and take satisfaction” from the “unrelenting and unpredictable” violence.
Defence lawyer Edward MacMahon told jurors Elsheikh – who was stripped of British citizenship after his capture in Syria in 2018 – insists he has been misidentified as a terror cell leader.
He does not dispute that “"horrible, despicable and senseless” murders happened and says he "unquestionably did provide services to Islamic State at some time”.
But Mr MacMahon told the court: "Many other young British Muslims did travel to Syria - they shared many of the same characteristics and accents.
"You are going to have to decide whether these identities are correct or not." Elsheikh denies eight charges related to the capture, detention and deaths of hostages. Families of the murdered Americans are sitting in court alongside Mr Haines’ daughter Bethany. The trial continues.
