“They told me the Beatles tortured my dad and the others because they were bored. They obviously said it was ‘something to do,’” he says. Some said that Mr. Haynes, whose military background was discovered by the group, was locked in a narrow cell and given “punishments” of electric shock. It was important for her to include a reference to Islam in her statement, she says, because when it first happened I was young and naive, I thought ‘Christians do not go around doing these things’, but when I traveled to Syria I met so many “Many Muslims have been affected by IS,” he told the Telegraph. “It changed my mind and woke me up – it has absolutely nothing to do with religion. “They hate to hide behind it.” The other three members of the cell had their fate. Emwazi leader killed in US drone strike in Raqqa Aine Lesley Davis was tried by a court in Turkey in 2017, with a sentence of seven years. Alexander Kotey pleaded guilty last year and is awaiting sentencing. Kotey will likely spend his first 15 years in the United States before being extradited to the United Kingdom to serve the remainder of his term. Elsheikh’s trial is expected to last more than a month and will be heard by 60 witnesses, including foreign secret services, Yazidi sex slaves and other alleged victims who are not included in the indictment. The United Kingdom has agreed to provide a wealth of business intelligence to the couple in exchange for a promise from the US Department of Justice to lift the death penalty in the case. The families of the victims had mixed thoughts about the decision. “Honestly, I just wanted to hang them from a tree, anywhere,” says Haines. “I wanted them to disappear, because the prison is not going to change their minds. They are cruel extremists who will never feel anything close to remorse. “Why do they deserve to be on this planet when they have committed unspeakable crimes?” Along with her impact statement, Ms. Haines plans to keep a photo of her father in court.
