British national pleads guilty to role in terror beheadings

3 years ago 281

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A British nationalist admitted Thursday evening successful a national courtroom adjacent the nation's superior that helium played a enactment relation successful an Islamic State strategy to torture, clasp for ransom and yet behead American hostages.

Alexanda Anon Kotey, 37, pleaded blameworthy to each 8 counts against him astatine a plea proceeding successful U.S. District Court successful Alexandria. The charges see hostage-taking resulting successful decease and providing worldly enactment to the Islamic State radical from 2012 done 2015.

He admitted guilt successful transportation with the deaths of 4 American hostages — writer James Foley, writer Steven Sotloff and assistance workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller — arsenic good arsenic European and Japanese nationals who besides were held captive.

Kotey is 1 of 4 Islamic State members who were dubbed “the Beatles” by their captives due to the fact that of their British accents. He and different man, El Shafee Elsheikh, were brought to the U.S. past twelvemonth to look charges aft the U.S. assured Britain that neither antheral would look the decease penalty.

Elsheikh is inactive scheduled to spell connected proceedings successful January. A 3rd Beatle, Mohammed Emwazi, besides known arsenic “Jihadi John,” was killed successful a 2015 drone strike. A 4th subordinate is serving a situation condemnation successful Turkey.

The plea woody sets a mandatory minimum condemnation of beingness without parole. After 15 years, though, helium would beryllium eligible to beryllium transferred to the United Kingdom to look immoderate imaginable charges there.

In the plea woody , helium admits that beingness is an due condemnation successful the United Kingdom arsenic well. If helium were to person a condemnation of little than beingness there, the woody requires that helium service the remainder of his beingness sentence, either successful the United Kingdom if that state volition bash so, oregon beryllium transferred backmost to the U.S. to service the beingness term.

The woody besides requires him to cooperate with authorities and reply questions astir his clip successful the Islamic State group. He would not, though, beryllium required to attest astatine Elsheikh's trial.

The woody besides requires him to conscionable with victims' families if they petition it.

Kotey gave a somewhat elaborate relationship of his clip successful Islamic State erstwhile U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis asked him to explicate successful his ain words what helium had done.

He said helium traveled to Syria to “engage successful a subject combat against the Syrian forces of Bashar Assad” and that helium yet pledged allegiance to Islamic State person Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

“I judge I volition beryllium perceived arsenic a extremist who holds extremist views,” helium said.

He acknowledged that helium had participated successful “capture-and-detain operations” to kidnap Foley and different Western hostages and that helium led efforts to extract ransoms.

He described the acts of unit that were inflicted connected the hostages arsenic a indispensable portion of keeping them successful enactment and persuading Western governments to wage ransom.

In the years aft the hostages had been killed, helium said helium filled aggregate roles wrong the Islamic State, including arsenic a sniper and arsenic manager of a peculiar forces grooming camp.

Prosecutor Dennis Fitzpatrick said astatine Thursday's proceeding that Kotey, Elsheikh and Emwazi were each friends astatine a young property successful London, wherever they became radicalized.

In a statement, Raj Parekh, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, who is besides a subordinate of the prosecution squad connected the Kotey and Elsheikh cases, said the lawsuit has ever been focused connected the victims and their families.

"Their resilience, courage, and perseverance person ensured that panic volition ne'er person the past word. The justice, fairness, and humanity that this suspect received successful the United States basal successful stark opposition to the cruelty, inhumanity, and indiscriminate unit touted by the violent enactment helium espoused,” Parekh said.

Mueller besides was raped by the Islamic State's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, according to the indictment. Al-Baghdadi was killed by U.S. forces successful Syria successful 2019.

Kotey and Elsheikh were captured successful Syria successful 2018 by the U.S.-supported Syrian Democratic Forces portion trying to flight to Turkey.

Family members of each 4 victims attended Thursday's proceeding and stood extracurricular the courthouse afterward with prosecutors. They volition person an accidental to talk astatine Kotey's ceremonial sentencing connected March 4.

James Foley's mother, Diane, said she was grateful for the condemnation and praised prosecutors for obtaining a elaborate relationship of Kotey's culpability.

“This accountability is indispensable if our state wants to discourage hostage-taking," she said. Diane Foley besides called connected the U.S. authorities to prioritize the instrumentality of each Americans being held abroad.

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