A former member of a cell of the ISIS terrorist organization known as the "Beatles" has been sentenced to life in prison in the United States by US District Judge T. S. Ellis in Alexandria, Virginia, after gut-wrenching statements in court from family members of victims.

British jihadist Alexanda Amon Kotey had been involved in the hostage-taking and murder of U.S. journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and U.S. development workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller. The 38-year-old had pleaded guilty in September. The charges were conspiracy to commit hostage-taking resulting in death, conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens and conspiracy to support a terrorist group.

In the case, jihadist El Shafee Elsheikh, who also belonged to the "Beatles" cell, was found guilty on all charges two weeks ago. The sentence against the 33-year-old will not be announced until August; he also faces a life sentence.

Involved in the kidnapping of 27 people

The notorious ISIS cell, dubbed the "Beatles" because of the accent of its members, had been deployed to guard and torture Western hostages in the former capital of the so-called "caliphate," Raqqa. The group is believed to have been involved in the kidnapping of at least 27 people between 2012 and 2015. The hostages came from Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Sweden and Spain, among other countries.

Alexanda Amon Kotey (l.) and El Shafee Elsheikh after their arrest by the YPG © SDF/Handout

Probably the best-known member of the "Beatles" cell was Briton Mohammed Emwazi, alias "Jihadi John," killed in a drone strike in late 2015. On ISIS propaganda videos, Emwazi was shown beheading journalists Foley and Sotloff. The three survivors of the quartet fled the city after the liberation of Raqqa by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Aine Davis escaped to Turkey, and El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Amon Kotey were captured in eastern Syria in January 2018. Both were later taken to Iraq and eventually to the U.S. in October 2020. The UK revoked their British citizenship.