US judge sentences Daesh/ISIS 'Beatle' Kotey to life

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - A federal judge in the US state of Virginia sentenced on Friday a former British national to life in prison after he confessed to being part of a Daesh/ISIS terror cell collectively referred to as the "Beatles."

Alexanda Kotey pleaded guilty in September to being part of the hostage taking group that filmed and then distributed online gruesome videos in Syria that included the beheadings of several hostages, including Americans. He faced eight charges related to hostage taking, torture, and murder.

US District Judge T. S. Ellis said in court that Kotey deserves a life sentence because he is guilty of some of "the most serious crimes that can be committed," according to CNN.

Ellis said that he hopes Kotey's case will serve as a deterrent to future terrorists, saying "We don’t give up."

Kotey was brought to the US in 2020 alongside fellow "Beatle" El Shafee Elsheikh after Washington vowed not to pursue the death penalty against the men. Both men were stripped of their British citizenship.

Kotey and Elsheikh were captured by the US-backed SDF in northern Syria in 2018.

Elsheikh was found guilty earlier in April on all eight charges he faced. He is set to be sentenced in August, and was present as Ellis handed down Kotey's sentence.

Elsheikh faced four counts of conspiracy and four other charges related to the kidnapping and murders of four Americans: James Foley, Peter Kassig, Kayla Mueller and Steven Sotloff.

Foley, Kassig and Sotloff were beheaded. The circumstances of Mueller's death remain unclear, but she was reportedly forced into marrying and was repeatedly raped by former Daesh/ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Several prisoners formerly held by the "Beatles" testified during Elsheikh's two-week trial and said the men forced them to fight one another until they passed out as well as other cruelties, according to The Associated Press.