On the eighth anniversary of the brutal beheading of journalist James Foley, a federal decide in Virginia sentenced one of many males answerable for his seize and homicide to life in jail. Foley’s mom mentioned that “with at this time’s verdict we lastly have a little bit of justice.”
El Shafee Elsheikh, a British ISIS fighter, was a member of a terrorist cell dubbed “the ISIS Beatles” owing to their British accents. He was captured in 2018 and indicted in 2020 for his position and homicide of Foley, in addition to these of Steven Sotloff, one other journalist; Peter Kassig, an support employee and former Army Ranger; and Kayla Mueller, one other support employee.
On Friday, a decide in Alexandria, Virginia, sentenced Elsheikh to eight life sentences, courtroom information present.
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“As grateful as I’m for this sentence, it’s a hole victory,” Foley’s mom, Diane Foley, mentioned at a press convention Friday, simply outdoors the courthouse the place the decision was learn.
“Our nation has misplaced 4 of its best residents; we households misplaced our family members ceaselessly,” she mentioned, earlier than including that the 2 captured males who helped perpetrate the kidnapping and murders “have misplaced their freedom, nation and households.”
“It is a tragic cycle of violence and heartbreak for all concerned,” Foley mentioned.
The decision closes one other chapter in America’s conflict on ISIS — the violent al-Qaida splinter group that aimed to create an Islamic state referred to as a caliphate throughout Syria, Iraq and different components of the Center East. The group got here into being roughly round 2012 and, at its top, it not solely managed the Iraqi metropolis of Mosul however claimed credit score for terror assaults in France and Belgium.
Elsheikh and his fellow fighters gained notoriety after they started posting movies on-line in 2014 capturing their beheading of prisoners. The prisoners can be carrying orange jumpsuits whereas ISIS members, clad utterly in black and with their faces coated, stood over the victims earlier than executing them. The orange jumpsuits have been meant to reference photos that had been made public of detainees carrying related garb on the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
In her assertion to the courtroom earlier than sentencing, Diane Foley mentioned that “journalists Steven Sotloff and our son James Foley [were drawn to Syria] to bear witness to the Syrian peoples’ craving for freedom, and compassionate support staff Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig to alleviate their struggling.”
Foley, who was in Syria as a contract journalist, was kidnapped on Nov. 22, 2012, in line with courtroom paperwork. He had as soon as labored for the Stars and Stripes newspaper overlaying the navy, amongst different retailers.
Mueller and Sotloff have been captured Aug. 4, 2013, and Kassig was seized by the group on Oct. 3 of the identical 12 months.
Foley was the primary to be executed. He was killed on Aug. 19, 2014, with the video surfacing shortly thereafter. The fighter who narrated Foley’s video warns then-President Barack Obama that “the lifetime of [Sotloff], Obama, will depend on your subsequent determination.”
Sotloff was additionally a freelancer having labored for Time Journal and different corporations. A video of his execution surfaced about two weeks later in September, 2014.
Diane Foley learn a press release from Sotloff’s dad and mom, who praised the U.S. authorities for “making it attainable to seize, to convey to our nation, attempt to convict in a courtroom of legislation the ISIS Beatles, who barbarically killed our beloved son.”
Kassig’s execution video was found by a personal intelligence firm in November 2014. He enlisted within the Army in 2006 and have become a Ranger, becoming a member of the first Battalion, seventy fifth Ranger Regiment. He deployed as soon as earlier than being medically discharged.
Mueller by no means had an execution video launched, however courtroom information say that ISIS despatched her dad and mom three photographs of her lifeless physique in February 2015.
Her father, Carl Mueller, mentioned that the household, together with the FBI, remains to be working to convey her stays house. “We met with Director Wray simply not too way back and he informed us each: ‘We obtained this. We aren’t going to cease till we discover Kayla,'” he mentioned.
The households talked about that that they had a chance to talk with Elsheikh because the trial progressed. Diane Foley mentioned the person defined to her his rationale for his actions and “his excuses,” earlier than including that “he did articulate some regret.”
Carl Mueller, nevertheless, mentioned, “I nonetheless suppose he believes he was doing the proper factor.”
The households additionally emphasised that they really feel the federal government can do extra work to stop related hostage-taking sooner or later.
“Our U.S. passport ought to imply that our authorities is with us and can shield us, ” Diane Foley mentioned, including that “it needs to be a swifter response and adopted by deterrence and far accountability to discourage this horrible apply.”
She recalled that when her son and others have been nonetheless being held captive, “we have been informed repeatedly to be quiet, to not inform anyone.” Although she famous that she understood why that request was fabricated from the households, “it did not serve us effectively in any respect as a result of it made this horrible disaster a silent one that everybody might ignore and did ignore.”
For the reason that seize and homicide of Foley, Sotloff, Kassig and Mueller, some adjustments have been implimented. In 2015, Obama unveiled a sequence of coverage adjustments after assembly with households of captive People. The adjustments included now not threatening prosecution towards households of hostages who pay ransoms, in addition to loosening the long-held coverage of not negotiating with hostage-takers.
“They undoubtedly have realized their lesson, and our youngsters have been the price of that,” Carl Mueller mentioned. “Hopefully, sooner or later, our authorities will do like so many others did, and get their folks house, not go away them there for 18 months.”
— Konstantin Toropin will be reached at konstantin.toropin@navy.com. Comply with him on Twitter @ktoropin.
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