ISIS victim David Haines's daughter tells how she wanted his killers from terror gang 'the Beatles to be 'hung from a tree' as she prepares to come face-to-face with one of them at US trial - where he WON'T face death
- Bethany Haines will be present for the trial of El Shafee Elsheikh this week
- The ISIS 'Beatle' member was indicted over the murders four Americans in Syria
- Also believed to have kidnapped and tortured David Haines, a British aid worker
- Ms Haines told The Sunday Telegraph she will read a victim impact statement
- In it, she will implore Elsheikh to reveal the whereabouts of her father's body
- She said that she wanted to see Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey - another of the four 'Beatles' - hung from a tree, saying she does not believe they can change
The daughter of David Haines is set to come face-to-face with the man accused of kidnapping and torturing her father for the first time, and has said she wanted his killers to be 'hung from a tree'.
Bethany Haines will be present in Virginia this week when a U.S. federal judge is finally set to hear the case against El Shafee Elsheikh, who is standing trial over the deaths of Americans James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig.
While Elsheikh has not been charged in America over Mr Haines' death due to America lacking jurisdiction, he is believed to have participated in the kidnapping, torture and beheading of 27 British, American and other foreign hostages in Syria.
Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, the daughter of Mr Haines - the former RAF engineer and aid worker who was 44 he was captured by ISIS in 2013 and beheaded the following year - said that she never thought Elsheikh would be caught, let alone stand trial.
'That we have got to this point feels like a miracle,' she told the newspaper before travelling to Virginia from her home in Perthshire.
![Bethany Haines will be present in Virginia this week when a U.S. federal judge is finally set to hear the case against El Shafee Elsheikh, who is standing trial over the deaths of Americans James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig. He is also accused of killing](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/27/02/55848649-10656157-image-a-211_1648345277556.jpg)
Bethany Haines will be present in Virginia this week when a U.S. federal judge is finally set to hear the case against El Shafee Elsheikh, who is standing trial over the deaths of Americans James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig. He is also accused of killing
The 24-year-old has prepared a victim impact statement which she plans to read in court. Giving the Telegraph a preview, she said it would say that Elsheikh's alleged killings had nothing to do with his religion.
'No matter what you say, this was not about religion, you brutally murdered good and innocent people, and now you have to live with that for the rest of your life,' Ms Haines plans to tell him, she said.
Ms Haines says that as much as she wants to see Elsheikh see justice, she is also hoping that he will finally reveal the location of her father's body.
Her letter will implore him to give up the location not for her, but for her son.
'Don't do it for me, do it for my son, who can finally say goodbye to his grandad,' she told the newspaper, reading from her draft.
Elsheikh was one of the members of the 'ISIS Beatles' - four British born men who went to Syria to fight for the terrorist group.
When being interrogated by the United States, Elsheikh said that Mohammed Emwazi, known as the infamous 'Jihadi John', buried the body of James Foley, but burned that of Steven Sotloff because the ground was too dry.
![While Elsheikh (pictured) has not been charged in America over Mr Haines' death due to America lacking jurisdiction, he is believed to have participated in the kidnapping, torture and beheading of 27 British, American and other foreign hostages in Syria](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/27/02/55848655-10656157-image-m-214_1648345323682.jpg)
While Elsheikh (pictured) has not been charged in America over Mr Haines' death due to America lacking jurisdiction, he is believed to have participated in the kidnapping, torture and beheading of 27 British, American and other foreign hostages in Syria
It is expected that Elsheikh will spend 15 years in a U.S. prison before being extradited to the UK to serve the rest of his jail term.
Over the course of the trial - that will likely last a whole month - 60 witnesses will give evidence. They are made up of foreign intelligence, other alleged victims and Yazidi sex slaves, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
The trial will be the first - and likely the last time a senior member of ISIS stands trial in the West. Others were either killed in Syria or tried in the Middle East.
David Haines' family reportedly have different opinions over the justice they want to see handed down to his captors.
In an interview last in October 2020, Mr Haines’ brother, Mike, said: ‘Hate is the choice. We all have the power not to hate.’
He told The Independent that he had started working in counter-extremism, adding: ‘I knew I had to do something – my brother’s murder was about hatred, it was about division.
‘They took my brother’s life but if I could take someone away from a path of hatred and help them choose a different path, we’ve won.’
However, Bethany told MailOnline last year: ‘My uncle and I have very different views and opinions. These two men took my dad away from me and took my son’s grandad away from him. I will always hate them.’
She has not changed her opinion, telling The Sunday Telegraph she wanted them 'hung from a tree', saying prison would not change them.
![Pictured: Bethany Haines when she was a child with father David Haines](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/27/02/55848651-10656157-image-a-212_1648345291653.jpg)
Pictured: Bethany Haines when she was a child with father David Haines
![Bethany Haines with father David Haines](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/27/02/55848997-10656157-image-a-225_1648345819489.jpg)
Bethany Haines with father David Haines
Elsheikh (aka Geroge) has been pictured since he was detained. He has been held by the US with Alexanda Kotey (aka Ringo) - another of the four 'Beatles'.
Emwazi (aka John) is believed to have been killed in an airstrike in 2015, while Aine Lesley Davis (aka Paul) is serving a seven-year prison sentence in Turkey.
In September last year, 38-year-old Kotey pleaded guilty to eight charges relating to the murders of the hostages, and will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.
At the same time, 33-year-old Elsheikh pleaded not guilty, leading to the trial.
The Beatles ISIS cell became notorious around the world after videos were posted online showing Jihadi John beheading hostages.
The first video showed Emwazi beheading James Foley off camera after forcing him to read a statement criticising the United States.
Subsequent videos showed the beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff and British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning. Another appeared to show the aftermath of the beheading of American aid worker Peter Kassig.
![Pictured: James Foley while covering the civil war in Aleppo, Syria](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/02/02/09/53674691-10467289-image-m-23_1643794058410.jpg)
![US aid worker Peter Kassig otherwise known as Abdul-Rahman Kassig in Syria](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/02/02/09/53674665-10467289-image-m-21_1643794050739.jpg)
Pictured left: James Foley while covering the civil war in Aleppo, Syria. Pictured right: US aid worker Peter Kassig otherwise known as Abdul-Rahman Kassig in Syria. Both were beheaded by British ISIS fighter and 'Beatle' Jihadi John
![US freelance journalist Steven Sotloff](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/02/02/09/53674663-10467289-image-m-26_1643794084881.jpg)
![Kayla Mueller is shown after speaking to a group in Prescott, Arizona](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/02/02/09/53674683-10467289-image-a-27_1643794089149.jpg)
Left: US freelance journalist Steven Sotloff. Right: Kayla Mueller is shown after speaking to a group in Prescott, Arizona. Both were killed in Syria by ISIS
On November 12 2015, Emwazi was reported to have been killed in a drone strike carried out by the United States in Syria, with then-President Barack Obama saying on December 14 he had been 'taken out'.
Kotey and Elsheikh were later captured in early 2018 by the Kurdish-led Syrian Defense Forces (SDF). In the following months, they both gave interviews to various media outlets which saw Elsheikh admit to guarding hostages who were later killed.
He also admitted to getting information from them to be used in ransom negotiations, but Elsheikh later attempted to have his statements tossed out, claiming he made them under torture after he was captured.
A judge denied the request, ruling the interrogations could be used in the trial.
![Pictured: A combination picture shows Alexanda Kotey and Shafee Elsheikh, in these undated handout pictures in Amouda, Syria released February 9, 2018](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/27/02/53674679-10656157-Pictured_A_combination_picture_shows_Alexanda_Kotey_and_Shafee_E-a-209_1648344298216.jpg)
Pictured: A combination picture shows Alexanda Kotey and Shafee Elsheikh, in these undated handout pictures in Amouda, Syria released February 9, 2018
![A Kurdish security officer escorts Alexanda Amon Kotey, left, and El Shafee Elsheikh, who were allegedly among four British jihadis who made up a brutal Islamic State cell dubbed 'The Beatles,' for an interview with The Associated Press, March 30, 2018](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/27/02/53674671-10656157-A_Kurdish_security_officer_escorts_Alexanda_Amon_Kotey_left_and_-a-210_1648344298241.jpg)
A Kurdish security officer escorts Alexanda Amon Kotey, left, and El Shafee Elsheikh, who were allegedly among four British jihadis who made up a brutal Islamic State cell dubbed 'The Beatles,' for an interview with The Associated Press at a security center in Kobani, Syria, Friday, March 30, 2018
They initially pleaded not guilty at a hearing in 2020, but Kotey later changed changed his plea giving hope that he would be open to cooperation.
Both men are believed to also be involved in the deaths of Haines and Henning, as well as two Japanese nationals.
Families of their victims hope that Elsheikh's trial in March will give them answers to what happened to their loved ones, including where they were buried.
The fourth member of the 'Beatles' - Aine Lesley Davis, known as 'Paul' - was arrested in Turkey in 2015 and is currently serving a seven and a half year prison sentence.
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