US agrees to drop death penalty for IS ‘Beatles’
The US has bowed to the UK’S request to take the death penalty for British Islamic State suspects “The Beatles” off the table, The Daily Telegraph understands. The US Attorney General has told the Home Office of its decision, giving it a deadline to hand over all evidence on Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh to help bring a prosecution, according to UK and US officials. The men form half of a four-man cell whose beheadings drew global attention in 2014.
The US in return wants the UK to hand over intelligence on the two men that would assist a prosecution
DONALD TRUMP’S administration has told the UK it has bowed to its request to take the death penalty for British Islamic State suspects “The Beatles” off the table, The Daily Telegraph understands.
Bill Barr, the US Attorney General, has formally told the Home Office of its decision, giving it a deadline to hand over all evidence it has on Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh to help bring a prosecution, according to UK and US officials. If Britain is unable to provide them with the materials, which includes wiretaps, intercepted communications and witness testimony, by mid-october, Mr Barr’s office threatened in a letter to hand the pair over to authorities in Iraq, where they are being held.
The issue has been a sticking point between the allies. The Supreme Court in London ruled in March that it was unlawful for authorities to cooperate with the US in a high-profile terrorism case without first being assured that Londoners Kotey, 36, and Elsheikh, 32, would not face the death penalty, which the UK objects to.
Earlier this month the UK told its American counterparts that it was suspending sending over all evidence in criminal cases because the US still uses capital punishment.
An appeal in the case, which had originally been brought by Elsheikh’s mother, is due imminently.
Captured by allied Kurdish forces in Syria in early 2018, the pair were turned over to US troops and have been in US military custody at al-asad base in Iraq since October, amid questions over how and when they will face justice.
The Daily Telegraph understands US military personnel in Iraq have raised concerns with the Department of Justice about guarding the pair at al-asad, which has come under attack from Iran-backed Iraqi militias, leaving scores of troops injured. It has asked they be transferred as soon as possible.
The men form half of a four-man cell of British IS members whose gruesome hostage beheadings for propaganda videos drew global attention in 2014.
The US Department of Justice in return wants the UK to hand over intelligence on the two men that would assist a prosecution. This paper understands that Washington is seeking to try the pair in the Eastern District of Virginia.
If the UK does not act quickly on this, sources told The Daily Telegraph that the US could threaten to hand the men over to Iraqi authorities for trial instead. This would be problematic for Britain as Baghdad also has the death penalty, which it has already handed down to several European IS fighters.
The deadline of October 15 set by the US comes just two weeks after the Supreme Court returns from a recess.
The families of James Foley, Steven Sotloff and Kayla Mueller, who were tortured and killed by “The Beatles”, have urged the Department of Justice to do whatever it can to ensure the pair are brought to the US for trial, including dropping the death penalty option.