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ISIS ‘Beatles’ member Alexanda Kotey learns his fate for role in brutal beheadings of US hostages
Alexanda Kotey, 38, showed no emotion as the verdict was handed down during the emotionally-charged hearing at Alexandria District Court in Virginia as members of his victims’ families watched on.…
nypost.com
ISIS ‘Beatles’ member Alexanda Kotey learns his fate for role in brutal beheadings of US hostages
By
Emily Crane
April 29, 2022 3:21pm
Updated
ISIS ‘Beatles’ member Alexanda Kotey jailed for life in US
A member of the notorious ISIS execution squad dubbed “The Beatles” was sentenced on Friday to life in prison over the brutal beheadings of American hostages in Syria, including journalist James Foley.
Alexanda Kotey, 38, showed no emotion as the verdict was handed down during the emotionally-charged hearing at Alexandria District Court in Virginia as members of his victims’ families watched on.
The British-born terrorist had pleaded guilty last year to kidnapping and murdering Foley and fellow journalist Steven Sotloff, as well as aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig, between 2012 and 2015.
Several family members gave powerful victim impact statements during Kotey’s sentencing, describing the dread of knowing loved ones were in captivity and the grief they felt in the aftermath of their deaths.
“I will not hate you,” Kassig’s mother, Paula Kassig, told Kotey. “It would give sadness, pain and bitterness too much power over me. I choose to let my heart be broken open, not broken apart.”
Kotey is one of two British nationals extradited to the US in 2020 to face charges over the heinous slayings of four Americans.HANDOUT/Syrian Democratic Forces/AFP via Getty Images 
Peter Kassig was kidnapped and murdered by Kotey in Syria.YouTubeKotey — one of two British nationals extradited to the US in 2020 to face charges over the heinous slayings — had admitted to inflicting torture on the hostages, including waterboarding them and giving them electric shocks with a stun gun.
Judge Thomas Selby Ellis described Kotey’s actions as “egregious, violent and inhumane.”
After delivering the verdict, Judge Ellis said he hoped it would be a deterrence to other terrorist groups.
“We don’t give up. We will look for you. We will find you,” the judge said of the US government.
Kotey had admitted to inflicting torture on the hostages, including waterboarding them and giving them electric shocks.AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File
Kotey’s lawyer said during the sentencing that the terrorist would be meeting with some family members of victims to “make amends” as part of the conditions of his plea deal.
The judge agreed to keep Kotey detained in Alexandria until July so that those meetings could be arranged.
The federal Bureau of Prisons has yet to determine where Kotey will serve his sentence.
The judge declined a request from Kotey’s lawyer to recommend against sending the terrorist to the Supermax prison in Colorado, known as ADX Florence, where some of the world’s most dangerous criminals, including Mexican drug kingpin El Chapo, are housed.
The other Brit in American custody, El Shafee Elsheikh, was convicted by a jury in the same court earlier this month. He is scheduled to be sentenced in August.