WASHINGTON — A infamous British member of the Islamic State who's dealing with federal prices over accusations that he helped jail and tortured Wes
WASHINGTON — A infamous British member of the Islamic State who’s dealing with federal prices over accusations that he helped jail and tortured Western hostages is making ready to plead responsible, in response to a court docket discover filed late Tuesday.
A terse submitting within the public docket for the case in opposition to the person, Alexanda Kotey, introduced the scheduling of a “change-of-plea listening to” for five:30 p.m. Thursday earlier than the choose overseeing the case, T.S. Ellis III of the Federal District Courtroom for the Japanese District of Virginia. He had initially pleaded not responsible.
Mr. Kotey was a part of an ISIS cell of 4 Britons referred to as “the Beatles” — a nickname bestowed by their victims due to their accents — and identified for his or her excessive brutality. A few of the group’s victims had been beheaded for propaganda movies, together with the American journalists James Foley and Steven J. Sotloff. Their our bodies haven’t been discovered.
Ali Soufan, a former F.B.I. counterterrorism agent who has been working intently with households of ISIS victims, stated the change of plea instructed that Mr. Kotey is likely to be keen to supply particulars about what occurred.
“A plea settlement means he’s possible cooperating,” stated Mr. Soufan, who has helped victims examine what occurred and lobbied the Trump-era Justice Division to prosecute Mr. Kotey and one other captured British ISIS member, El Shafee Elsheikh, in civilian court docket. “Throughout our investigation, we discovered that Kotey was concerned at each stage of the hostage taking. He is aware of what occurred to them and what they endured in ISIS custody. His cooperation ought to make clear this.”
Raj Parekh, one of many prosecutors on the case who can be now overseeing it because the appearing U.S. legal professional for the Japanese District of Virginia, declined to remark. Geremy Kamens, the federal public defender for the district, who’s overseeing the protection, didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Mr. Kotey and Mr. Elsheikh had been captured in Syria in 2018 by an American-backed Kurdish militia. The American army took custody of them in 2019.
After a prolonged debate contained in the Trump administration over what to do with them — together with the opportunity of turning them over to the Iraqis or taking them to the wartime jail at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba — they had been dropped at Virginia to face prices earlier than a civilian court docket final yr.
Each initially pleaded not responsible. Since then, the case has been in pretrial hearings. Mr. Elsheikh has apparently not modified his plea.
One other member of the onetime British cell — Mohammed Emwazi, higher often known as Jihadi John — was killed in an airstrike in 2015 in Syria. Mr. Emwazi was believed to have killed Mr. Foley and Mr. Sotloff, in addition to Peter Kassig, an support employee.
The fourth member, Aine Davis, has been imprisoned in Turkey on terrorism prices.
Adam Goldman contributed reporting.
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