Islamic State ‘Beatle’ Gets Life Term for US Hostage Deaths

08/19/2022

British national El Shafee Elsheikh was sentenced to life in prison Friday for his role in an Islamic State scheme that took roughly two dozen Westerners hostage a decade ago. Elsheikh’s hostages gave him a somewhat whimsical nickname — he was dubbed a “Beatle” along with other English-accented captors — but the moniker belied the viciousness of his conduct. 

He is the most notorious and highest-ranking member of the Islamic State group to ever be convicted in a U.S. Court, prosecutors said Friday at his sentencing hearing in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. The life sentence was a foregone conclusion after a jury convicted him of hostage taking resulting in death and other crimes earlier this year. 

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