The End of the Beatles Terrorist Group
On Friday, August 20, the official sentence of a British terrorist was announced in a U.S. court. He was sentenced to eight life imprisonments, which were issued following his conviction in April for playing a key role in the murder of four American hostages held by ISIS in Syria. This court marked the end of several phases of police and judicial efforts to capture specific ISIS terrorists who became world-famous news figures during a certain period when ISIS dominated Iraq and Syria.
They came from a land far from Iraq and Syria, from Britain, and their first distinguishing feature was their British accent, which was noticeable in the violent videos they released. This four-member group was perhaps tastelessly dubbed the Beatles terrorist group, which was an injustice to perhaps the greatest and most important music group in world history.
El Shafee Elsheikh
Hostages held by ISIS, who were tortured under him, nicknamed Elsheikh as Jihadi George. This young Briton was the son of Sudanese immigrants who left his country, Britain, and joined ISIS. Multiple charges were brought against him, and the significance of his recent trial in the U.S. led to the stories of their crimes being revisited in the media after years.
Elsheikh had become highly skilled in capturing and torturing their targets, and the bitter and terrifying stories of their treatment of hostages, especially what Elsheikh did, were shocking. One of Elsheikh’s simplest and kindest plans was forcing hostages to fight each other in a closed room and threatening the loser with water torture and executing waterboarding. Elsheikh had reached the highest level of skill in performing waterboarding torture.
Aine Davis
A young man from Hammersmith, London, in the early decade of the third millennium, had several charges related to drugs and was imprisoned in 2006 for illegal possession of a weapon. After being released from prison, he converted to Islam and changed his name to Hamza. In 2013, when he was already a fervent extremist, he headed to the Levant to join ISIS. Turkish police arrested him in 2015, and he was imprisoned for seven and a half years on charges of membership in ISIS. After being released from Turkish prison and upon entering British soil, he was arrested on charges of illegal possession of a weapon and committing various terrorist crimes and is currently undergoing legal proceedings.
Mohammed Emwazi
We reach the two more famous faces of the Beatles terrorists. Mohammed Emwazi was born in Kuwait and migrated to Britain with his family. He was a graduate of the University of Westminster. Emwazi had the most famous nickname among these four and was known as Jihadi John. He appeared in several videos without covering his face, and a significant part of his fame was due to his leading role in the beheading videos of ISIS hostages. He was one of the top names on the wanted list of ISIS and was killed in a powerful operation by Britain and the United States in November 2015.
Alexanda Kotey
Alexanda Kotey, like Mohammed Emwazi, was often seen without a mask. In April this year, he admitted to committing at least eight specific crimes in a U.S. court. His admissions, especially his role in the death of four Americans, were of great importance to American audiences. The news of their captivity and death, especially the horrific manner of their execution during Barack Obama’s presidency, shook American society. Kotey and Elsheikh were captured together.
The Verdict of Elsheikh, a Bitter Court, and the End of the Beatles
The trial of El Shafee Elsheikh was held under conditions where the efforts of his victims’ families on one side and the follow-ups of judicial authorities were finalizing the work of the Beatles terrorist group members. Nevertheless, the court was a scene of emotion for many, even the prosecutor, who, referring to Dante’s Inferno, stated that he did not know a circle of words that could express the pain and suffering the victims endured.
It was on the anniversary of James Foley’s murder that El Shafee Elsheikh’s verdict was announced. James Foley’s mother was allowed to speak in court after the verdict was announced and addressed Elsheikh with bitter and meaningful words. She said, ‘El Shafee, you will be imprisoned for the rest of your life because of your horrific acts, but you have also lost your freedom, citizenship, and family connections.’
We all lost. Love is much stronger than hate. I pity you for choosing hate and succumbing to false religious beliefs because Islam is truly a religion of love, kindness, and peace.