Families of Syria Hostages Say Justice Has Prevailed

Americans whose lives were taken by Islamic State militants in Syria have welcomed a guilty verdict handed down Thursday by a U.S. court.

Diane Foley, the mother of slain American journalist James Foley, speaks to reporters following the conviction of Islamic State 'Beatle" El Shafee Elsheikh (AFP/Stefani Reynolds)

During just over four hours, the jury found British national El Shafee Elsheikh guilty of eight counts related to his role in holding about two dozen Western hostages in Syria, including four American citizens who were killed.

Among those kidnapped and later killed by the IS cell were journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, along with aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller. "This is a day that we didn't need bombs or bullets to bring justice," said Diane Foley, James Foley's mother. "I really feel that justice prevailed."

Mueller's father also welcomed the verdict.

"We all saw the American justice system do what it does best," said Carl Mueller, who attended the hearing with his wife, Marsha, at U.S. District Court. The two-week trial included witness testimony from individuals who were held captive by Elsheikh and other members of an IS cell known by their hostages as "The Beatles" due to their accents.

The number of hostages held between 2012 and 2015 totaled 26. Several witnesses detailed the violence meted out to them, including beatings, being forced to fight one another, and sexual abuse. Members of their families described being held as ransom.

In 2018, Elsheikh along with IS cell member Alexanda Kotey were captured. Following an agreement with the United States not to seek the death penalty, the pair will be brought to the United States in 2020 for trial. Kotey pleaded guilty in 2021 and may serve a part of his life sentence in Britain under a plea bargain.

In 2015, a drone strike killed Mohammed Emwazi, also known as Jihadi John, another member of their cell. In videos that were distributed as terrorist propaganda, he killed Foley, Sotloff, and Kassig in 2014. Mueller was held before being handed over to IS leader Abu Bakr-al-Baghdadi. The court heard she was raped repeatedly before her death in February 2015.

The Committee to Protect Journalists described Thursday's ruling as "a step toward accountability."

During the opening of the trial, Diane Foley welcomed the decision to bring her son's captors to trial in the United States. "I think we must do the opposite of what was done. That to me is the huge contrast," she said. "The British and American hostages were given nothing. They were treated like animals. They were tortured. They received … no beat of justice. I think it is important that we show how civilized people should react to others." She expressed her hope that the trial would shine a light on the more than 60 Americans who are still held hostage or wrongfully detained around the world as the trial came to an end.