The brother of a British aid worker killed by an Islamic State cell known as the Beatles said the sentencing of one of their members closed an “eight-year head of pain” for his family.
Mike Haynes, whose brother David Haynes was captured by extremists in Syria in March 2013, welcomed El Shafi Elsheikh’s 33-year sentence in a U.S. court, saying it “provided us with some imprisonment.”
The 2014 assassination of David Haynes by the cell, whose nickname is due to their British accent, was used by them for propaganda. Elsheich of London and cellmate Alexandra Kotei will be convicted later this month.
The cell is also said to be composed of Mohamed Emuazi, the group’s leader known as Jihadian John, who was killed in a drone strike in Raku, Syria, in 2015, and Aine Davis, who was convicted by a Turkish man. court for a member of a terrorist group – believed to be responsible for the brutal killings of several Western and Japanese captives, including Britain’s Alan Henning and Haynes.
The two British victims were not part of the indictment against Elsheikh and Kotei, and the latter has already admitted his role in the atrocities, as the court focuses only on US victims.
Elsheich was convicted on eight counts involving four American hostages: James Foley, Stephen Sotloff, Peter Cassig and Kayla Mueller, after a trial in the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia. It is believed that the two may still be on trial in the UK for the deaths of British citizens.
Mike Haynes, who runs the charity educational organization Global Acts of Unity in honor of his 44-year-old brother, said in a statement: “While nothing can really make up for the hole David’s murder left in our hearts, the verdict and ensures that all three surviving gang members involved in my brother’s murder are now brought to justice.
He added: “This unanimous sentence is a triumph of society over evils such as terrorism and helps us differentiate ourselves from the hateful, divisive ideologies that feed these people. It must also act as a warning to anyone else seduced by the false luster of extremism. “
Speaking after the verdict, Bethany Haynes, the daughter of David Haynes, told BBC One: “It was much more emotional than I expected. I expected to be happy, excited, but it is the realization that he is guilty, what he has done to all families, to all hostages.
“I haven’t slept all night, probably since my father was killed in 2014, so I hope to sleep through the night tonight.”
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