ISIS' El Shafee Elsheikh Sentenced To Life For Torture, Murder Of Americans

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One of the members of the ISIS group notoriously referred to as the "Beatles" was sentenced to life in prison on Friday (August 19) in connection to the torturing and deaths of Americans a decade ago, NBC News reports.

El Shafee Elsheikh, who was one of the four British nationals known for their accents and cruelty as ISIS captors, was sentenced on each of the eight counts of charges in relation to the deaths of American hostages James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller that he was convicted of in April.

The three male hostages were all beheaded by ISIS members in videos shared online, while Mueller was forced into slavery and raped multiple times by ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi -- who was killed during a U.S. raid in Syria earlier this year -- before she was eventually being killed by the group.

"With today’s verdict, we finally have a bit of justice," said Diane Foley, the mother of James Foley, during a news conference on Friday via NBC News.

"Today is the 8th anniversary of our son Jim’s gruesome beheading by ISIS. But today we remember four extraordinary young Americans," she added. "These brave Americans saw the suffering of the Syrian people and decided to help, whether it was by providing humanitarian aid or by telling the world about the tragic Syrian crisis. They’ve left a legacy of profound moral courage."

More than 20 hostages were taken by ISIS when the group controlled large parts of Iraq and Syria from 2012 to 2015, with many of the surviving hostages -- all of whom are European -- testifying in court during Elsheikh's trial.


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