Islamic State ‘Beatles’ plead guilty in US – 02/09/2021

Alexandria, USA, September 2, 2021 (AFP) – Alexandre Cote, a member of the Islamic State’s kidnapping unit known as the “Beatles”, pleaded guilty in a U.S. court on Thursday (2) to plotting to kill four U.S. hostages.

Kotte, 37, is a former British citizen and one of two members under investigation in the United States.

So far, he has not been convicted in a court in Alexandria, Virginia, near Washington, where he is being tried, and 33-year-old El Shafi El-Sheikh is one of four members of the group. However, Kotte decided to change his statement.

Both were indicted in 2014 for the murders of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and assistant workers Peter Kasick and Kayla Mல்லller.

Alexandre Cotte answered “yes” to Judge DS Ellis, asking if he was “freely and automatically convicted.”

Once he pleads guilty, he relinquishes his right to trial and faces several life sentences without the right to early release. He reached an agreement with the government to give him all the information he had about his activities in Syria.

The families of the victims were in the room.

Alexandre Kotte and El Shafi El-Sheikh were deported from Iraq to the United States in October 2020.

bur-cyj / cjc / mr / dl / jc / mvv