Alexanda Kotey, 38, originally from Paddington, London, remained motionless as Judge Thomas Selby Ellis handed down his verdict in a district court in Alexandria, Virginia, while members of the victims’ families watched. Kotey was sentenced to life in prison on each of the eight charges he pleaded guilty to last year when he pleaded guilty to the deaths of four American hostages in Syria and to the abduction and torture of several journalists and aid workers. The sentences will be carried out simultaneously for “your period of physical life,” the judge said, describing Kotei’s behavior as “extraordinary, violent and inhumane.” Speaking about the victims of Kotey, Ellis added: “These were not prisoners of war, they were not soldiers on the field. “They were soldiers but they were soldiers for good.” Kotey was arrested by a Kurdish militia in Syria in January 2018 and handed over to US forces in Iraq before being flown to the US in 2020 for trial. He was stripped of his British citizenship by the British government. The judge noted that under an agreement, the US government has pledged to seek Kotey’s transfer to the UK after 15 years. “This is a very important advantage for you,” Ellis said. At the end of the hearing, Bethany Haines, 24, the daughter of British humanitarian worker David Haines, who was abducted and beheaded by Islamic State in Syria in September 2014, went to Kotey and said: “I hope you rot in hell. ». Earlier, wearing a green prison uniform and long white sleeves, bearded Kotey sat next to El Shafee Elsheik, a Beatle convict who looked down wearing a mask over his beard as members of the victims’ families read prepared statements into the microphone. . . Family members after family members spoke movingly about psychological trauma, lives changed irrevocably, haunted by trying to imagine the last moments of their loved ones and the ripple effect on relatives, friends and communities. Some burst into tears during the devastating testimony, which was marked by sighs and snoring in the public gallery. Bethany Haines told the court that her grandparents “died of grief” and that she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress, depression and anxiety. “My whole life has been turned upside down.” Wearing black, Haines said she had not slept well since her father was arrested. “I wake up at night listening to my dad scream as he is tortured by these men. “I hear him begging for his life and there is nothing I can do to save him.” Haines added that celebrating birthdays or Christmas is no longer fun. “My dad should be celebrating with me, but instead he is in a mass grave in the hills of Raqqa. He has not rested, he was thrown away like a garbage bag “. She said that grief forced her to drop out of school, college and university and that she could not keep a job. “I’m at a loss as to what to do with my life. “I originally planned to finish my university degree and go to the police to become a detective, but now I think, what does it mean?” Haines has a six-year-old son, born the year after her father’s death. “I struggle to explain to my son why mom is so sad all the time, why mom has scars on her hands, why sometimes mom can not get out of bed and why mom can not be like other mummies ». Haines’s widow, Dragana Prodanovic Haines, collapsed at the beginning of her deposition. He concluded: “I really hope you both live at least 200 years to hear about the death of everyone you care about. “For what I care about you can live a long time and suffer.” Athea’s 11-year-old daughter, who lost her father when she was four, added: “I miss her so much. Sometimes I get upset when I see my friends from school and the club laughing and playing with their dads. This is something I will never have the opportunity to do again. “It’s not easy to be that kid at school whose father was killed by terrorists.” There was a dramatic moment in court when Shirley Sotloff, the mother of the late journalist Steven Sotloff, caused the Beatles to look her in the eye. “Elseih, do not close your eyes, leave them open and look at me,” he demanded. “Yes, you have to do that.” Elseich complied only fleetingly before looking down again and refusing to make eye contact. Sotloff continued: “It’s something you see in the movies – not in real life. “Steven’s death was like a global horror movie that was watched live and continues to be repeated at the touch of a button for millions of people to see.” He added: “Sleep is never disturbed even eight years later. The disease in our stomach the minute we wake up and the psychological trauma we experience again and again and again and again. “We are forever devastated by the loss of our beloved son and are defined as the people of the horror movie.” At the end of her statement, Sotloff begged Elseih again: “Open your eyes please and look at me. “You have ruined our lives and we hope for the rest of your life you think about what you have done, as well as your families.” Paula Kassig, the mother of the slain American humanitarian worker Peter Kassig, said her health had been negatively affected by the loss, as she often had insomnia, forgetfulness and palpitations. Both she and her husband retired early. He told the court: “Knowing that the man I rocked to sleep as an infant and whose hand I held when I was scared as a child was starved, beaten, tortured and threatened with death every day for more than a year as long as I could not I was not able to help at all, I was able to cope “. Her husband, Ed Kassig, said: “They say time heals. They are lying. And “closing”? I’m sorry, this is just a word to make those present at the tragedy feel better. We, and our families who have fallen victim, have wounded hearts and souls. For us, the word function is “forever”. I wake up every morning and look into the eyes of my beautiful wife, his mother, knowing that they can not see unspeakable horror. “In completely unpredictable moments, the greatness of all, like a rogue wave, will immobilize me and fall to the ground. How do you “estimate” the cost of losing a life watching your child grow up and have children of their own? He was the last Kassing of his generation. The last male. The name dies. “ Ed Kassig also noted: “It was us, the victims, who pushed hard and hard to keep them away from Gitmo and to avoid the death penalty.” Carl Mueller, the father of the murdered humanitarian aid worker Kayla Mueller, addressed the defendants directly. “Who gets a young woman, a humanitarian worker, whose life task is to help people, to heal people, who gets a woman like that? cowards. He is the one who does it. “Courage is what you see here today. “She would have helped hundreds, maybe thousands, of people during her lifetime, and you took her from the world.” At times, even Ellis, a deeply experienced judge, seemed to struggle to compose himself. After the statements, he said: “Countries celebrate heroes and we must celebrate those people who showed courage, purpose and compassion under the most difficult circumstances.” He added: “The victims of the hostage-taking by the Islamic State are undoubtedly heroes.” Elsheikh, who was also stripped of his British citizenship, is due to be sentenced on August 19 after being convicted of conspiracy to commit murder.
