El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, will stand trial on Tuesday in the United States on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and deadly hostage-taking. He denies the allegations. Image: The service at Perth Congregational Church after a memorial service for David Haines 2014 Elsheikh was a member of a nucleus known as the IS Beatles – a group of British men who released videos of the assassination of journalists and aid workers such as James Foley and Peter Kassig in Syria. Two members of the group, Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey, were arrested and detained in Iraq before being flown to the United Kingdom, while Mohammed Emwazi was killed in a drone strike in 2015. Kotey pleaded guilty to the murders of journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig last year and will be convicted next month. Final team member Aine Lesley Davis was convicted of terrorism charges in Turkey in 2017. Bethany Haines, 24, the daughter of David Haines, who is said to have fallen victim to the so-called IS Beatles, will be on trial in Elsheikh, Virginia this week to urge him to “do the right thing” and reveal where. her father is buried. Image: The service at Perth Congregational Church after a memorial service for David Haines 2014 Speaking to the Sunday Times, Haines said: “I have been preparing for this for years. “I want to be able to see him at all times; to see the expressions on his face.” “He thinks he is above everything … everything is below him. He even smiled at a witness at a previous hearing.” He hopes to read a victim statement to Elsheikh if convicted. The charges against Elsheikh could lead to a death sentence, but prosecutors have told British officials they will not seek a sentence against him or Kotey.
