LONDON: A UK terrorist and member of the so-called Daesh group “The Beatles” facing trial in the US has demanded that anti-Muslim jurors and US service members be screened out of the legal process.
El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, also wants victims of terrorism banned from the jury in his trial.
He was charged with eight counts linked to the kidnapping and beheading in Syria of Western hostages, including four Americans and two UK aid workers.
His case — one of the highest-profile Daesh cases in the world — has been postponed until March due to the pandemic.
The four-man terror group was fronted by Mohammed Emwazi, 27, also known as Jihadi John. He was killed by a US drone strike in Syria in 2015.
Elsheikh’s lawyers are using questioning to screen out jurors.
One question asks: “Have you, a close member of your family, or close friend had any experience which would cause you to be biased against a defendant who is Muslim, Syrian, Kurd, or a person of Arab descent?”
Another asks: “Have you or a close member of your family ever served in a combat or militarized zone in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan or other areas overseas?”
If found guilty, Elsheikh will likely face life imprisonment in ADX Florence, a Colorado maximum security prison which also houses Abu Hamza, a radical imam from London.
Alexanda Kotey, 38, another member of “The Beatles,” has pleaded guilty to the same charges.
