{"id":56004,"date":"2020-10-08T02:19:34","date_gmt":"2020-10-08T02:19:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/10\/08\/us-charges-british-isis-members-in-deaths-of-american-hostages\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:12:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:12:04","slug":"us-charges-british-isis-members-in-deaths-of-american-hostages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2020\/10\/08\/us-charges-british-isis-members-in-deaths-of-american-hostages\/","title":{"rendered":"US charges British ISIS members in deaths of American hostages"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Two Islamic State militants from Britain were brought to the United States on Wednesday to face charges in a gruesome campaign of torture, beheadings and other acts of violence against four Americans and others captured and held hostage in Syria, the Justice Department said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey are two of four men who were called \u201cthe Beatles\u201d by the hostages because of the captors’ British accents. The two men made their first appearance Wednesday afternoon in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, where a federal grand jury issued an eight-count indictment that accuses them of being \u201cleading participants in a brutal hostage-taking scheme<\/a>\u201d that resulted in the deaths of Western hostages, including American journalist James Foley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The charges are a milestone in a yearslong effort by U.S. authorities to bring to justice members of the group known for beheadings and barbaric treatment of aid workers, journalists and other hostages in Syria. Startling for their unflinching depictions of cruelty and violence, recordings of the murders were released online in the form of propaganda for a group that at its peak controlled vast swaths of Syria and Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case underscores the Justice Department\u2019s commitment to prosecuting in American civilian court militants captured overseas, said Assistant Attorney General John Demers, who vowed that other extremists \u201cwill be pursued to the ends of the earth.\u201d The defendants’ arrival in the U.S. sets the stage for arguably the most sensational terrorism trial since the 2014 criminal case against the suspected ringleader of a deadly attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you have American blood in your veins or American blood on your hands, you will face American justice,\u201d said Demers, the department\u2019s top national security official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Assistant
Assistant Attorney General of the National Security Division John Demers speaks during a press conference at the Department of Justice, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020, in Washington. (Jim Watson via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At a brief initial appearance Wednesday in Alexandria, Elsheikh asked questions about his legal status. Asked if he wanted to hire his own attorney or have one appointed, he said he didn\u2019t know how to answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. I haven\u2019t had time to consult,\u201d he said from a video hookup at the Alexandria jail. He wore an olive green T-shirt, handcuffs, long, unruly hair and a blue surgical mask he fiddled with and eventually removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He later asked if he was still under military jurisdiction. \u201cAm I under arrest?\u201d he asked U.S. Magistrate Teresa Carroll Buchanan. He was informed that he is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kotey also asked about his status. \u201cI\u2019m just waiting to be briefed on what\u2019s going on,\u201d Kotey said. \u201cThis is all kind of foreign to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A public defender was appointed to represent both men at the hearing. Geremy Kamens, who heads the public defender\u2019s office in Alexandria, declined comment after the hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prosecutor Dennis Fitzpatrick said five of the eight counts against the men carry a mandatory life sentence if convicted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A detention hearing and arraignment were scheduled for Friday, though public defender Ken Troccoli told the judge he may request a delay so he has time to go over the indictment with his clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\t