Yahoo News British Isis 'Beatle' shows no remorse for violence and defends slavery in new interview
One of the members of the notorious Isis group dubbed “The Beatles” has shown no remorse for its violence and defended slavery in a new interview.
Captured Briton El Shafee Elsheikh denied being involved in beheadings and torture and refused to answer specific questions about the terror group.
Elsheikh, a former mechanic from White City in west London, was interviewed in Kobani, Syria, by Jenan Moussa, a reporter with Arabic-language Al-Aan TV.
13/ Also interesting: After UK #ISIS-member El Shafee Elsheikh became angry at me &cut the interview, we still talked off camera for about 15 minutes mainly in Arabic.
He told me that if time goes back to 2012, "I would do it all over again".
Really this guy has no remorse.
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) April 8, 2018
The “Beatles”, so-called because of their British accents, are accused of carrying out on-screen beheadings in 2014 of British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, as well as US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.
They are also accused of torturing more than 20 western hostages in Raqqa with Tasers, waterboarding and mock executions.
MOST POPULAR TODAY ON YAHOO
Police shoot man dead in Romford after he ‘made threats and claimed to have a gun’
Van driver arrested outside Buckingham Palace for ‘public order offence’
Two killed and five ill after ‘carbon monoxide leak’ in London property
Elsheikh and another “Beatle”, Alexanda Kotey, were captured at the beginning of this year trying to flee to Turkey.
1/ EXCLUSIVE: I had first TV interview with notorious ISIS member from UK, part of group dubbed "The Beatles".
Accused of beheading reporters, he was caught by Kurds.
I met him face to face. He got angry at me. Interview in English for @akhbar.
Part1:pic.twitter.com/CaAV81towQ
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) April 8, 2018
The cell’s leader, Mohammed Emwazi, known as “Jihadi John”, was killed in a US-led coalition drone strike in Syria in 2015.
Another “Beatles” member, Aine Lesley Davis, was convicted in Turkey last year and sentenced to seven years in prison.
In is interview, Elsheikh said several times: “I reserve anything about my time in Isis for the legal process.”
But he said: “Just because America decided to abolish something does not mean that everyone has to run behind America,” he said.
“Islamic texts have spoken about slavery and rights of a slave. There is a whole jurisprudence about slavery and the rights of slaves and the rights of slave owners.”
Asked what he thought of the group’s nickname, he said: “I don’t think John Lennon would like it much.”
He said: “I didn’t burn anybody, nor did I give anybody a trial and nor did I chop anybody’s head off so that’s an accusation that needs to be proved.”
