ISIS militant pleads guilty to role in killing U.S. hostages
![Relatives of U.S. hostages killed by ISIS.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/RqNXEaBfTQPDDK2Bhxc5uC-415-80.jpg)
Islamic State militant Alexanda Anon Kotey, a 37-year-old British national, admitted in a Virginia federal court on Thursday night that he was connected to the deaths of several foreign hostages, including American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.
Kotey pleaded guilty to eight counts against him, including hostage-taking resulting in death and providing material support to ISIS from 2012 to 2015. As part of the plea deal, Kotey will face a mandatory minimum sentence of life without parole, but in 15 years will be eligible to return to the United Kingdom to face potential charges there, The Associated Press reports. Kotey and another ISIS member, El Shafee Elsheikh, were captured in 2018 while trying to enter Turkey from Syria, and were brought to the U.S. in 2020 to face charges. Elsheikh is set to go on trial in January.
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis asked Kotey to describe his actions while in ISIS, and Kotey said he went to Syria at first to fight against the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but then pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. He admitted abducting Western hostages in order to get ransom money, as well as torturing them. "I accept I will be perceived as a radical who holds extremist views," Kotey said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Captives nicknamed Kotey, Elsheikh, and two other ISIS members from Britain "The Beatles," because of their accents, and they were known for their brutality. Foley, Sotloff, and Kassig were beheaded, and Mueller, who was also sexually assaulted by al-Baghdadi, died in captivity in 2015. Relatives of all four Americans were outside of the courthouse on Thursday, and they will be able to speak at Kotey's formal sentencing in March.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Ukraine's Olympians: going for gold in the line of fire
Under the Radar Hundreds of the country's athletes have died in battle, while those who remain deal with the psychological toll of war and prospect of Russian competitors
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Democrats now have a chance to present a vigorous, compelling case'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What has Kamala Harris done as vice president?
In Depth It's not uncommon for the second-in-command to struggle to prove themselves in a role largely defined by behind-the-scenes work
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'
Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security law
Speed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitution
speed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidence
Speed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulations
Speed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriage
Speed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump and his lawyer Alina Habba have a rough day in defamation court
Speed Read Trump's audible grousing as E. Jean Carroll testified earned him a warning he could be thrown out of court, and Habba showed she 'doesn't know what the hell she's doing'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Anders Breivik to testify in prison isolation lawsuit against Norway
Speed Read Far-right fanatic who killed 77 people in 2011 claims he has received 'inhuman treatment' in custody
By The Week UK Published