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Alleged member of ISIS death squad jailed for 8 years in UK – JURIST

A British man suspected of being a member of an ISIS death squad called “the Beatles” was sentenced to eight years in prison Monday for possession of a firearm and two charges of funding terrorism. The man, Aine Davis, was sentenced at the Old Bailey for the three offences, which date back to 2013 and 2014.The terror cell known as “the Beatles” consisted of four members who spoke with British accents. Other members of the group, El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey are currently serving life sentences in the US. They were charged with taking American citizens hostage in Syria and other terrorism offences which resulted in deaths. According to the indictment, they, along with Mohamed Emwazi (aka Jihadi John), “engaged in a prolonged pattern of physical and psychological violence against the hostages, including against American citizens.” Emwazi was killed in a drone strike in 2015. Davis has always denied being a part of the group.Davis was arrested in Turkey in 2015 and was prosecuted there for the offence of membership in an armed organisation. This trial ended in 2017, and he was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. At the end of that sentence, he was deported back to the United Kingdom where he was arrested by UK authorities in 2022. At his sentencing hearing, his barrister made “various tender apologies” on his behalf.Judge Mark Lucraft KC sentenced Davis to six years for the firearms offence and two years for funding terrorism.