Daesh'Beatle' expected to plead guilty


ALEXANDRIA, United States — Alexanda Kotey, a member of the notorious Islamic State kidnapping cell dubbed the "Beatles", was expected to plead guilty on Thursday in a US court to charges of conspiring to murder four American hostages.

The federal court in Alexandria, Virginia outside Washington posted a notice this week for a "change of plea" hearing for Kotey, a former British national and one of two kidnap cell members brought to the United States for trial.

Kotey, 37, and El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, were flown from Iraq in October to face trial for involvement in the murders of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and relief workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.

After the two suspects were captured in January 2018 by Syrian Kurdish forces in Syria, they were turned over to US forces in Iraq.

Britain, which did not want to put them on trial at home, stripped them of their UK nationality.

But their transfer to the United States was made possible only after the US authorities assured London they would not seek the death penalty in the case.

Appearing from prison before Judge TS Ellis by video link on October 9, both pleaded not guilty.

Deciding to change his plea to guilty could indicate that Kotey has reached a deal with prosecutors based on his cooperation. But any such deal would have to be approved by the judge.

Kotey and Elsheikh's four-member Daesh cell was dubbed the "Beatles" by their captives due to their British accents.

They were allegedly involved in abducting American, European and Japanese hostages in Syria from 2012 to 2015.

They allegedly tortured and killed their victims, including by beheading, and the Daesh released videos of the murders for propaganda purposes.

Alleged ringleader Mohamed Emwazi, known as "Jihadi John", was killed in a US air strike in Syria in November 2015 while the fourth "Beatle", Aine Davis, is imprisoned in Turkey after being convicted on terrorism charges.

Kotey and Elsheikh supervised detention facilities for hostages and allegedly coordinated ransom negotiations conducted by email, according to the US authorities.

The pair also engaged in a "prolonged pattern of physical and psychological violence against hostages", they said.

A US special forces raid that resulted in the death of Daesh group leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi in Syria in 2019 was code-named Task Force 8-14, in reference to the birthday of the young aid worker Mueller.

She was working with the Danish Refugee Council when she was abducted in northern Syria in 2013.

Mueller's parents say she was tortured before being handed over to Baghdadi, who allegedly raped her repeatedly before killing her.