Elshafee El Sheikh, 34, was found guilty in April of kidnapping and supporting a terrorist group.
Image source, US Department of JusticeAn Islamic State group militant from the UK has been sentenced to life in prison by a US court for his involvement with a terror cell.
El Shafee Elsheikh, 34, was convicted in April of hostage-taking, conspiracy to murder US citizens and supporting a terrorist organisation.
Addressing the Sudanese-born Londoner, the judge called his actions “horrific, barbaric, brutal and criminal”.
Elsheikh was the highest profile IS fighter to stand trial in the US.
His actions are said to have resulted in the deaths of four US hostages.
Journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig were all kidnapped and killed at the hands of the cell.
“Hatred truly overtook your humanity,” Foley’s family said in a statement on Friday. “But you too have lost – your freedom, your citizenship and family contact. We have all lost.”
The sentencing came on the eight-year anniversary of Foley’s death. His mother, Diane Foley, told the BBC that when she first heard of her son’s death she thought it was “some cruel joke”.
Hostages said Elsheikh was part of a notorious cell nicknamed “the Beatles” – after the band – because of their British accents.
The three members – Elsheikh, Alexanda Kotey and Mohammed Emwazi – who are said to be part of the group all grew up in west London and volunteered to fight for the Islamic State group in Syria. They ended up guarding Western hostages.
US authorities say the group beheaded 27 hostages.
Elsheikh was the only one of the three militants to go on trial in the US, after Kotey pleaded guilty to charges last September and Emwazi was killed in a 2015 drone strike in Syria.
In April, the 12-person jury deliberated for less than six hours over two days before finding Elsheikh guilty.
The gruelling 11-day trial involved testimony from former hostages and their family members. On the stand, they described the Beatles as a cohesive unit that revelled in brutality.
Witnesses recounted receiving random beatings, being given dog names and being forced to sing a parody of the Eagles’ pop song “Hotel California” retitled “Hotel Osama”.
Elsheikh has been sentenced to eight life sentences, served concurrently, with no option for parole.
He has appealed and has disqualified his lawyers, meaning he is claiming he did not get a fair trial.
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