Brother of British aid worker killed by ISIS ‘Beatles’ welcomes conviction of El Shafee Elsheikh

The brother of a British aid worker killed by a so-called Islamic State terror cell known as ‘the Beatles’ has said the conviction of one of their members provided ‘some closure’ after an ‘eight year chapter of pain’. 

Mike Haines, whose brother David Haines was murdered by the barbaric group, said the conviction of 33-year-old Londoner El Shafee Elsheikh in a US court yesterday ensured he ‘faced justice’.

David was captured by militants in Syria in March 2013 while delivering aid to the war-torn country.

His murder the following year was used for propaganda by ‘the Beatles’, who were given the moniker because of their distinctive British accents.

Elsheikh and fellow Beatle Alexanda Kotey will be sentenced for their part in the gruesome plot later this month.  

In a statement, Mike Haines said: ‘While nothing can truly compensate for the hole David’s murder left in our hearts, the verdict provides us with some closure and ensures that all three surviving members of the gang involved in my brother’s murder have now faced justice.’

David’s daughter, 24, has also said she hopes she will finally be able to a get a ‘full night’s sleep’, which she hasn’t been able to do since her father’s death.

Elsheikh could spend the rest of his life in a prison known as the ‘Alcatraz of the Rockies,’ joining notorious criminals like drug lord El Chapo, Boston bomber Dzhokar Tsarnaev, and Bonanno mob boss Vincent Basciano. 

The cell, also said to be made up of ringleader Mohammed Emwazi, known as Jihadi John, and Aine Davis, was thought to be responsible for the brutal killings of several Western and Japanese captives, including Britons Alan Henning and Mr Haines.

The latter two did not form part of the indictment against Elsheikh and Kotey, the latter having already admitted his role in the atrocities, because the court was focusing only on US victims.

It is believed the pair may yet face court in the UK for the deaths of British nationals.

Mr Haines, who runs education charity Global Acts Of Unity in honour of his 44-year-old brother, said he is due to fly to the US for the sentencing hearing.

He said: ‘My brother and the many other innocent lives taken by this terrorist organisation were never afforded justice.

‘This unanimous judgment is a triumph for society over ills like terrorism and helps differentiate us from the hateful, divisive ideologies that fuel these individuals.

‘It must also act as a warning to anyone else seduced by the false glamour of extremism.’

David Haines’ daughter Bethany, 24, said the conclusion of the trial was ‘a lot more emotional’ than she expected.

Speaking after his conviction, Ms Haines told BBC One: ‘It was a lot more emotional than I expected.

‘I expected to be happy, excited, but it’s the realisation that he’s guilty, what he’s done to all the families, all the hostages.

‘I’ve not slept a full night’s sleep probably since my dad was killed in 2014 so hopefully tonight I’ll get a full night’s sleep.’

Yesterday Elsheikh was convicted of eight counts relating to four US hostages, James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig, and Kayla Mueller, after a trial at the US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia.

Following the verdict, Commander Richard Smith, head of the Met’s counter terrorism command, said the force had provided evidence to the US court.

He added: ‘This evidence has contributed to the overall prosecution case, and enabled our colleagues in the US to ensure this man has been brought to justice for some of the most evil and terrible crimes imaginable.

‘It shows how we, along with our international partners, are absolutely determined to identify and bring those responsible for extremely serious terrorist offences to justice, even if those offences have been committed on foreign soil.’

Like other terrorists – such as Al-Qaeda’s co-founder Mamdouh Mahmud Salim and British ‘Underwear’ bomber Richard C. Reid – Elsheikh will more than likely rub elbows with the worst-of-the-worst at Colorado’s Florence ADX, which is most commonly known as just ADX.

The notorious prison is known as the worst facility in the US, with its roughened conditions and inmates spending up to 23 hours a day in their cells.

Elsheikh, Kotey and Emwazi all knew each other in England before joining IS, the court was told.

Elsheikh was captured alongside Kotey in Syria in 2018 by the US-supported Syrian Democratic Forces while trying to escape to Turkey.

Last year, Kotey pleaded guilty to eight counts relating to his involvement, while Davis was jailed in Turkey and Emwazi was killed in a drone strike.

Life in the prison that’s a fate worse than death: After being found guilty, ISIS Beatle El Shafee Elsheikh is set to rot away in Colorado’s Supermax jail with El Chapo, Boston bomber Dzhokar Tsarnaev and Mafia boss Vincent Basciano 

By Alyssa Guzman for Dailymail.com

ISIS Beatle El Shafee Elsheikh could spend the rest of his life in a prison known as the ‘Alcatraz of the Rockies,’ joining notorious criminals like drug lord El Chapo, Boston bomber Dzhokar Tsarnaev, and Bonanno mob boss Vincent Basciano. 

Elsheikh, 33, was convicted in Virginia on Thursday for kidnapping and killing four Americans. He was convicted on four counts of conspiracy and four counts of hostage-taking resulting in death and faces a life sentence. 

He was a part of a terror group known as the Beatles, which consisted of three British ISIS members, who went by John, George and Ringo. Elsheikh was reportedly using the code name Ringo. 

During the trial, three former hostages testified against Elsheikh, Mohamed Emwazi, and Alexanda Kotey. The group reportedly took hostages to demand the release of imprisoned ISIS militants or large ransoms. Some hostages were lucky enough to survive and be released after their ransom was paid, while four were not. The group filmed their killings for propaganda videos. 

Elsheikh was an alleged ‘important’ and high-ranking member of ISIS. However, his defense attorney argued he was a ‘simple ISIS fighter,’ according to CNN.  

Like other terrorists – such as Al-Qaeda’s co-founder Mamdouh Mahmud Salim and British ‘Underwear’ bomber Richard C. Reid – Elsheikh will more than likely rub elbows with the worst-of-the-worst at Colorado’s Florence ADX, which is most commonly known as just ADX. 

The notorious prison is known as the worst facility in the US, with its roughened conditions and inmates spending up to 23 hours a day in their cells. 

The ‘escape proof’ supermax sits on 37 acres of land, deep in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It’s comprised of 490 7-by-12 foot cells with all inmates living in soundproof isolation. Each cell contains a bunk, desk, stool, shelf, a steel sink, and toilet. In addition to the bare minimum, each inmate gets a three-foot window that’s only four inches wide, according to The New York Times. Most cells are also equipped with a television. 

ADX is the only prison ‘specifically designed to keep every occupant in near-total solitary confinement,’ according to a 1998 SF Gate article. The design of the prison to keep inmates in the dark of where they are, even when during their limited recreation time, where they are let inside a small room known as the ’empty swimming pool’ that only has a four-by-four skylight inside. 

Inmates are also not allowed to have contact with each other. Although communication does happen between inmates, it’s very hard due to the soundproof walls.  

The ‘worst than death’ facility was created after two correctional officers were killed inside the Marion Federal Prison in Illinois in 1983. Marion was considered the worst prison in the US at the time. After the two officers’ death, the facility turned into an ‘all-lockdown’ facility, which became the model for ADX, according to The New York Times.

In various points through ADX history, H-wing inmates – which houses criminals with special administrative measures (SAMs) in even more isolated conditions than the rest of the prison – protested conditions through a hunger strike in 2019. It was reported that officers responded by force-feeding the inmates by inserting a tube through their noses that led to their stomachs.

Mohammed Salameh, who was convicted for the attack on the World Trade Center, participated in several hunger strikes over the course of a decade and was reportedly force-fed around 200 times. 

He stopped eating to demand more phone calls per month, for non-contact family visits to be without shackles, and to be able to write more letters.

‘He went on hunger strike five or six times and was force-fed about 200 times over the course of a decade. He was protesting his conditions of confinement, pretty much the SAMs that he was living under,’ Journalist Aviva Stahl, who wrote about her findings, told KRCC in 2019.

Salameh who would taken to the medical facility to be force-fed and strapped to a black chair with his hands behind his back, straps against his legs; waist, chest, and arms; and two guards would his head back, according to Stahl. 

The supermax has been the debate of humanity since its opening in 1994. A former warden told The New York Times in 2015 ADX was ‘ not designed for humanity.’ 

An investigation into human rights violations was conducted in 2019, the same year El Chapo was transferred to the prison. A journalist discovered inmates’ communication was limited – especially in H-Unit, where it is forbidden. 

These conditions are saved for those the US government have deemed too dangerous for regular maximum-security prisons and some of the world’s most hardened criminals have ended up behind these walls. 

Some hardened criminals that are still housed in ADX today include Terry Nichols, known as the Oklahoma City Bomber. He was sentenced to 161 consecutive life sentences after he and his friend Timothy J. McVeigh killed 168 people with their bombs at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995. The attack was the largest killing in the US before September 11, 2001. 

Former-FBI-agent-turned-Soviet-spy Robert Hanssen was sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences after making roughly $1.4million by selling US information to Russia. He served 25 years in the FBI from 1976 to 2001 and sold thousands of documents. 

The facility is also home to Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, one of the World Trade Center bombers, who was sentenced to a life sentence, plus 240 years. 

The underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is also at the facility after he was sentenced to life for attempting to bomb Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas Day in 2009. 

Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, alongside his brother, killed three people and injured more than 250 after bombing the marathon in 2013. He is currently serving life in prison at the facility.  

Mob boss Vincent Basciano also enjoyed the facility from 2011 to 2015 in H-Unit, until he was transferred out of the facility. It is unclear where he was transferred, but he was taken to a less restrictive prison. 

It is unclear where Elsheikh will be held until his sentencing.