El Shafee Elsheikh

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This article is about a Sudanese terrorist. For Sudanese labour organiser (1924–1971), see El-Shafie Ahmed el-Sheikh.
El Shafee Elsheikh
الشافعي الشيخ
Born (1988-07-16) 16 July 1988 (age 37)[2]
Omdurman, Sudan
Known forA role in ISIL atrocities as a member of the "Jihadi Beatles"
Criminal statusIncarcerated at ADX Florence
Convictions
Criminal penaltyEight concurrent life sentences without the possibility of parole[1]

El Shafee Elsheikh (Arabic: الشافعي الشيخ;[3] born 16 July 1988), known as Jihadi Ringo,[4] is a Sudanese Wahhabi terrorist who took part in atrocities of the Islamic State between 2012 and 2015 as one of the four so-called Jihadi Beatles.[5][6] He was found guilty of eight charges of hostage taking and murder by an American court in 2022 and later sentenced to eight life sentences without the possibility of parole.[7]

Early life and family

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Elsheikh was born in Omdurman, Sudan. Although his family was Muslim, they were not particularly devout. His family fled the country following a coup d'état led by Omar al-Bashir that overthrew the demcratically-elected government. Elsheikh and much of his extended family lived in Cairo, Egypt, for four years as political refugees, spending most of his time with aunts and younger cousins, describing the former as "second mothers". In 1994, an asylum application made by Elsheikh's father was approved by the United Nations, with Elsheikh, his parents, and his brother being relocated to the United Kingdom, while other relatives remained in Egypt.[8]

Elsheikh spent his youth in White City, London.[9][10] The Daily Telegraph reports he was a follower of a local football team, Queen's Park Rangers, and dreamed of joining the team when he grew up.[11] A second brother was born in England before Elsheikh's parents divorced aaround 2000, with him and his siblings living with their mother. Elsheikh gained fluency in English in elementary school and after secondary school, he entered vocational training, where he completed plumbing, bricklaying, and mechanical trades.[8] He studied mechanical engineering at Acton College and worked as a fairground ride maintenance worker.[12] At age 19, Elsheikh was stabbed and injured in a fight with a gang member.[13]

In 2009, Elsheikh began Islamic studies, after acquaintances with criminal pasts appeared to reform after dedicating themselves to religion.[8] In 2010, while in Canada, Elsheikh married Dure Ahmed, a Canadian citizen of Ethiopian descent, but he was not allowed to bring her back to England.[14][13][15] Between 2010 and 2011, Elsheikh became involved in an aid organisation, collecting clothes, food and medicine, after hearing about atrocities committed in Syria by the Assad government during peaceful protests.[8]

Terrorist activity

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In 2011, Elsheikh took part in protests by the banned Islamist group Muslims Against Crusades.[13] He was arrested at one such counter-rally to an English Defence League (EDL) march on 11 September 2011, alongside Alexanda Kotey, the later "Jihadi George". They were suspects in relation to a stabbing committed during the demonstration and released the same day without charge.[16] In 2012, Elsheikh left the United Kingdom for Syria to fight government forces, joining Jabhat al-Nusra. As various jihadist factions had allied themselves against the Assad government, Elsheikh eventually joined the Islamic State.[8]

In 2014 and 2015, IS held dozens of European and North American captives, and the brutal conditions of their detention were widely reported.[17][10] Four English-speaking terrorists played a central role in the brutality. Their identities were initially either not known or security officials did not make their identities known to the public. Due to their British accents, their captives dubbed them The Beatles, with Mohammed Emwazi, the most well-known of the group, having been dubbed "Jihadi John". Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey were identified as potential members of "the Beates" around 2013, after hostages mentioned that they talked about their arrests at a EDL march in 2011, with their arrests and questioning having been recorded on video. Voice analysis showed a "very strong likelihood" that Elsheikh's voice was a match for the "Beatle" who acted as the main torturer for the group. Elsheikh was further linked to the group through a Telegram channel found a mobile phone was seized from his brother, who was arrested during the anti-gun crime intitiative Operation Trident.[16]

On 30 March 2017, Elsheikh and four other men were named as suspected terrorists, by the United States State Department, under Executive Order 13224.[18] This Executive Order signed by US President George W. Bush, shortly after al-Qaeda's attacks on 9/11, allowed the State Department to bar US citizens, US financial institutions, and other US corporations, from having any financial transactions with designated individuals.

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured Elsheikh and Kotey, on 24 January 2018[17][10][19] near the Turkish border to Syria as they fled from the collapse of the short-lived Islamic State-claimed territories.[17][10][19] The pair were reported to have been trying to blend in with genuine civilian refugees, fleeing the collapse of the last IS enclaves. While the pair were identified as "Jihadi Ringo" and "Jihadi George", there was uncertainty over who was which, with Elsheikh often being referred to by either name,[13][20] though he has been consistently referred to as the former since 2025.[21][22]

Wife

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When Elsheikh moved to Syria, he travelled there with a second wife. His Canadian wife Dure Ahmed moved there to join them, where she then had children with Elsheikh.[14][23] Ahmed was repatriated to Canada from Syria in April 2023, after joining a court case against the Government of Canada demanding that Canadian wives and children of ISIS terrorists be brought home.[24] She was arrested upon her arrival, then released with strict bail conditions, facing further conditions and possible charges under a terrorism peace bond at hearings in October 2023.[23]

Prosecution

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The Independent reported that the United Kingdom government was considering agreeing that Kotey and Elsheikh could be transferred to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.[17] Detention in Guantanamo could be indefinite detention, without charge, if transferred to US custody. For a civilian trial, it was anticipated that they would be incarcerated at the Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, if they were convicted.[17]

Another option under consideration was trial at the International Court in The Hague. According to The Independent, the UK government would first strip Kotey and Elsheikh of UK citizenship, prior to agreeing to transfer to The Hague.[17][25]

The Guardian quoted Tobias Ellwood, the UK Minister of Defence, who argued that transfer to Guantanamo was inappropriate.[26] In a face-to-face interview with Jenan Moussa of Al Aan TV in Kobanî, Syria, at the beginning of April 2018, Elsheikh said he was interviewed by US and SDF officials, but not by UK officials.[27]

On 7 October 2020, Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey were brought to the United States to face charges of beheading western hostages.[28] Elsheikh denied being a member of "the Beatles" but admitted joining the IS terrorist group. On 14 April 2022, after a three week trial, he was found guilty of lethal hostage taking and conspiracy to commit murder[29] and on 19 August 2022, was sentenced to eight life sentences without the possibility of parole.[1][30] Elsheikh immediately confirmed his intention to appeal his conviction.[31]

On 24 September 2022, Elsheikh was transferred into the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and designated to United States Penitentiary, Florence High. Some members of the victims of family expressed disappointment in the Bureau of Prisons for designating Elsheikh and Kotey to merely high-security penitentiaries instead of the federal supermax ADX Florence. David Spencer of the Center for Crime Prevention slammed the decision, claiming it was a "soft" punishment for the actions of Elsheikh and Kotey.[32] On 3 March 2023, Elsheikh was transferred from Florence High to the adjacent ADX Florence.[33] In August 2025, Elsheikh asked to be transferred to the United Kingdom, after Sebastian Gorka, U.S. Deputy Assistant to the President, called for foreign IS-affiliates in United States custody to be returned to their countries of origin. Robert Jenrick, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, stated that the UK would not oblige the request since Elsheikh was no longer a British citizen and that a repatriation would have to go through Sudanese authorities.[22]

References

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  1. ^ a b Honderich, Holly (19 August 2022). "Elshafee El Sheikh: Ex-Briton 'Isis Beatle' sentenced to life in prison". BBC News.
  2. ^ "Counter Terrorism Designations | U.S. Department of the Treasury". Home.treasury.gov. 30 March 2017. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  3. ^ "الشافعي الشيخ... عندما يسقط القناع عن وجه جلاد "وحشي"". The Independent (in Arabic). 9 April 2022.
  4. ^ "Witnesses describe hostages' despair at Brit's terror trial". AP News. 6 April 2022. Archived from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Another Islamic State jailer who held Western hostages identified as Londoner". The Washington Post. 7 February 2008. Archived from the original on 10 July 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  6. ^ "ISIS Accomplice Of "Jihadi John" Named As "Quiet And Humble" Londoner". BuzzFeed News. 8 February 2008. Archived from the original on 6 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  7. ^ ISIS ‘Beatle’ Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Hostage-Taking Scheme that Resulted in the Deaths of American, British, and Japanese Citizens, U.S. Dept. of Justice website. Accessed 13 February 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. EL SHAFEE ELSHEIKH" (PDF). United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. 2022.
  9. ^ Gardham, Duncan (19 August 2022). "El Shafee Elsheikh: The ISIS Beatle known as 'Ringo', who grew up in west London and went to Syria". Sky News.
  10. ^ a b c d Rohit Kachroo (9 February 2018). "Alexanda Kotey image: ITV News obtains exclusive first photo of IS 'Beatle' in detention". ITV. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018. The bearded Kotey is seen in a tatty grey t-shirt after being captured in Syria in January, trying to smuggle himself into Turkey.
  11. ^ Martin Evans, Josie Ensor, Steve Bird, Patrick Sawer (9 February 2018). "Revealed: How two London schoolboys became the world's most wanted murderers". The Telegraph (UK). Archived from the original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018. Growing up in west London in the 1990s, Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh had many things in common, not least their passion for Queens Park Rangers - the local football team.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Jihadi John's fourth Beatle unmasked as refugee given shelter in UK". The Telegraph. 23 May 2016.
  13. ^ a b c d "El Shafee Elsheikh, 'most brutal' of the IS 'Beatles'". France 24. 30 March 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Last of ISIL's beheading 'Beatles' identified, has Canadian connection". The Washington Post. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2023 – via National Post.
  15. ^ "Ex-wife of IS 'Beatle' speaks out for first time". BBC. 17 October 2023.
  16. ^ a b "Islamic State 'Beatles': How 2011 arrests led to convictions". BBC. 17 August 2022.
  17. ^ a b c d e f Rob Merrick (11 February 2018). "Britain 'may not challenge' Donald Trump if he decides to send jihadi 'Beatles' to Guantanamo, Justice Secretary says: Britain has yet to make any representations to Washington because it must first 'consider our options', David Gauke says". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 May 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018. But he refused to say the Government would intervene if the US President opted to send the pair to the notorious detention centre in Cuba for suspected terrorists.
  18. ^ "State Department Terrorist Designations of El Shafee Elsheikh, Anjem Choudary, Sami Bouras, Shane Dominic Crawford, and Mark John Taylor". U.S. Department of State. 30 March 2017. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  19. ^ a b Lolita C. Baldur (11 February 2018). "US wants foreign fighters in Syria to face justice at home". National Post. Rome. Retrieved 11 February 2018. U.S. officials have interrogated the men, who were part of the IS cell that captured, tortured and beheaded more than two dozen hostages, including American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and American aid worker Peter Kassig.
  20. ^ "Who were the jihadists nicknamed the Islamic State 'Beatles'?". BBC. 8 February 2018.
  21. ^ "'IS Beatle' wants to return to Britain 'so he can see his friends'". The Telegraph. 28 August 2025.
  22. ^ a b "IS terrorist 'Jihadi Ringo' requests transfer to UK, sparking outrage". euronews. 28 August 2025. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  23. ^ a b Burke, Ashley (16 October 2023). Repatriated Canadian Woman was Married to Notorious ISIS Fighter, Court Confirms. CBC News: The National (YouTube). Toronto. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  24. ^ Burke, Ashley (6 April 2023). "RCMP arrest 3 Canadian women after repatriation from camps in northeastern Syria". CBC News. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  25. ^ Dearden, Lizzie (31 March 2018) "Isis 'Beatles' militants captured in Syria accuse government of breaking law by removing British citizenship Archived 2018-03-30 at the Wayback Machine", The Independent
  26. ^ Ian Cobain, Vikram Dodd (9 February 2018). "Put 'Beatles' Isis fighters on trial, victims' families say: Families express relief and call for Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh to be put on trial". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018. Relatives of the victims of an Islamic State torture and murder cell known as "the Beatles" have expressed relief that the two remaining members have been captured and said they wanted to see them stand trial.
  27. ^ "أول مقابلة تلفزيونية مع أخطر مقاتل بريطاني في صفوف داعش - Jenan Mousa Pays British ISIL Beatle member a Visit in Custody". Akhbar Al Aan. Al Aan TV. 8 April 2018. Archived from the original on 3 March 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  28. ^ "Islamic State 'Beatles' charged in US over hostages' deaths". BBC. 7 October 2020. Archived from the original on 7 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  29. ^ "El Shafee Elsheikh: Guilty verdict for Islamic State 'Beatle' jihadist". BBC. 14 April 2022. Archived from the original on 15 April 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  30. ^ Thrush, Glenn; Goldman, Adam (19 August 2022). "Islamic State Militant Sentenced to 8 Life Terms in Killing of U.S. Hostages". The New York Times.
  31. ^ "Islamic State 'Beatle' gets life term for US hostage deaths". The Independent. Via AP news wire. 19 August 2022.
  32. ^ "El Shafee Elsheikh: Outrage as ISIS 'Beatle' guilty of horrific beheadings manages to evade supermax prison". meaww.com. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  33. ^ "Inmate Locator". bop.gov. Retrieved 3 March 2023.