'Isis Beatle' dubbed 'Jihadi Ringo' makes bid to return to the UK
A member of an Islamic State (IS) terror group dubbed 'The Beatles' is planning to return to the UK following his incarceration in the US.
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El Shafee Elsheikh, known as 'Jihadi Ringo', was a member of the terror cell that videoed the killings of British aid worker David Haines among other hostages.
Elsheikh was handed eight life sentences by a US court in April 2022 after being captured in 2018 by the Syrian Democratic Forces alongside fellow terror cell member Alexanda Kotey.
British aid worker David Haines was abducted while working at a refugee camp in Syria in 2013.
He was held hostage by Elsheikh and fellow gang members Kotey, Mohammed Emwazi and Aine Davis - a group known as 'The Beatles'.
Elsheikh was found guilty of hostage-taking and conspiring to murder journalists and aid workers in Syria following a trial, which took place in the US state of Virginia, close to Washington, in April 2022.
It's now been revealed that Elsheikh, who is currently housed in a Colorado jail, to a British jail under the International Prisoner Transfer Program.
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According to The Sun, the US penal system sent a letter to the relatives of victims to inform them of his proposed return to the UK.
The letter, seen by the newspaper, said: “This is to inform you that El Shafee Elsheikh has applied to transfer to the UK, the country of which the inmate is a national."
“The United States has prisoner transfer relationships with many countries.
“These treaties permit foreign nationals to apply to transfer and serve their sentence in their home country.
“Before making a decision, the US collects information about the prisoner, the views of law enforcement and any views provided by victims.”
Elsheikh was accused played a key role in keeping over 20 Western hostages in Syria from 2012 to 2015.
Prosecutors argued Elsheikh was a member of the 'ISIS Beatles' - a cell of four British-born jihadists who were said to be involved in the murders of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and relief workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.
The group were nicknamed after the British group because of their distinctive British accents.
A jury found him guilty on all counts following his trial, with the jury delivering the guilty verdict after just five hours of deliberation.
Defence lawyers acknowledged that Elsheikh joined the Islamic State group.
However, he said prosecutors failed to prove he was a Beatle, despite surviving hostages identifying Elsheikh as one of their captors.
A video released by the group showed the captive aid worker dressed in an orange jumpsuit moments before his murder.
Aine Lesley Davis was convicted and jailed in Turkey. British citizen Mohammed Emwazi - known as 'Jihadi John' - who wielded the knife in the beheading videos was killed in a drone strike in 2015.