Islamic State 'Beatles' terrorists plead not guilty in US court
Alexanda Kotey and Shafee Elsheikh
Two terrorists of Islamic State El Shafee Elsheikh, 32, and Alexanda Kotey, 36 pleaded not guilty in a US court to charges of conspiring to murder four American hostages.
Also Read:Two Islamic State terrorists known as 'Beatles' to appear in US court
Elsheikh and Kotey dubbed the "Beatles" due to their British accent were brought in from Iraq to face charges in US for the murder of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and relief workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.
Judge TS Ellis said, "time is required in order to achieve the ends of justice in this case", even though he asked for a trial to be held "as soon as possible".
Kotey and Elsheikh were stripped of their UK citizenship as the US assured the British government that they won't be given the death penalty. The former British nationals have been in US custody since October last year after being captured in January 2018 by Syrian Kurdish forces.
The two men have been charged with hostage-taking, conspiracy to commit murder among other crimes as they face a maximum sentence of life in prison. The duo allegedly abducted American, European and Japanese hostages in Syria from 2012 to 2015 and allegedly tortured and killed their victims, including by beheading.
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According to US authorities, both men travelled to Syria in 2012 after being radicalized in Britain.
As they were brought in to the US, the families of Kayla Mueller, Peter Kassig, Steven Sotloff and James Foley welcomed their transfer to face justice in the country.
"James, Peter, Kayla and Steven were kidnapped, tortured, beaten, starved, and murdered by members of the Islamic State in Syria," the families said in a joint statement. "Now our families can pursue accountability for these crimes against our children in a US court," the statement added.