The group of three Britons, nicknamed the “Beatles” by their captives, took more than 20 Westerners hostage at the height of the IS terror kingdom between 2012 and 2015. El Shafee Elsheikh is on trial in Virginia, with prosecutors claiming was the member nicknamed Ringo by the hostages. Federico Motka, an Italian aid worker who grew up in the United Kingdom, told a federal court that he and David Haines, a British humanitarian aid worker, had to fight John Cantlie, a British war correspondent and photographer. journalist. James Foley, in what the fighting team called a “royal buzz”. “They were very excited about it,” Motka, who suffered 14 months of barbarism at the hands of IK kidnappers, told the court on Thursday. “We were so weak and devastated that we could barely raise our hands.” He added that the trio humiliated them even more by providing a fake commentary on their forced fight, the Daily Telegraph reported. The hostages were told that the losers of the battle, which took place in the summer of 2013, when they were being held captive in a facility referred to as “the box”, would fall into the water, the Associated Press reported. Foley and Cantlie fainted during the hour-long battle, Motka said. The band considered the Italian a loser, but never succeeded, causing a beating instead. Motka testified to the Trinity’s individual preferences for torture. “George was more involved in boxing,” Motka testified. “John, he kicked a lot. Ringo used to say how he liked the fight. It would put people in a headlock. “ Motka, who was investigating the needs of the refugee camps in March 2013 when he and Haynes were arrested, is the first surviving hostage to testify at the Elseih trial. “They said I was an elegant wanderer because I went to the boarding school,” Motka testified. “They said I was arrogant and they were going to take me off a peg.” The phrase “posh wanker” allegedly caused a moment of awkward laughter in court when the judge intervened to ask what the phrase meant, forcing Motka to explain the meaning of the term. Motka said he and the other hostages endured a long “punishment regime” when held at the scene, including frequent beatings and coercion. “They played a lot of games with us,” Motka said. “They gave us dog names. We had to come and respond immediately. “ It is said that in late 2013 and early 2014, the hostages were forced to wear orange uniforms, as the group wanted to repeat the “conditions at Guantanamo detainees”. Motka also testified that he suffered water and electric shock with a stun gun through a hatch in his cell “until my hands became stiff.” He was released only on May 25, 2014. The United Kingdom and the United States are not paying for the release of hostages, which led to the executions of Haynes, British humanist Alan Henning, and four Americans named in the Elseikh indictment – Foley, Steven Sotler, Kaul. He is accused of involvement in their murder. In their opening statements, prosecutors referred to three British nationals. Elsheikh, Alexanda Kotey’s longtime girlfriend and Mohammed Emwazi, who often played the role of the executor and was known as “Jihadi John”. Emwazi was killed in a drone strike, while Kotey was arrested along with Elsheikh and also flown to Virginia for trial. Kotey pleaded guilty last year to a plea deal. Elsheikh’s defense lawyer Edward MacMahon said there was “no disagreement” about the horror of the prisoners’ fate. But, he said, while there was “no doubt” that Elsheikh had gone to Syria and fought with the Islamic State, there was also no evidence that he was one of the “Beatles”. The trial continues. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
