ISIS 'Beatle' trial hears that hostages were forced to sing 'Hotel Osama' - a depraved parody of the Eagles hit - before being executed: 'It was terrifying for us, it was a joke to them'
- El Shafee Elsheikh, a 33-year-old former British national, is on trial in Alexandria, Virginia, accused of involvement in the murder of ISIS prisoners
- American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig all died after being captured in Syria
- Elsheikh's defense lawyers insist that it is a case of mistaken identity and he was not part of the 'Beatles' jihadi group
- On Wednesday a French journalist held hostage by them for 10 months told how they were forced to sing a parody of the song Hotel California
![El Shafee Elsheikh, a 33-year-old former British national - he had his citizenship stripped - is on trial in Virginia accused of involvement in the killing of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig. His lawyers say it is a case of mistaken identity](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/07/22/56351335-10697523-image-a-9_1649367864809.jpg)
El Shafee Elsheikh, a 33-year-old former British national - he had his citizenship stripped - is on trial in Virginia accused of involvement in the killing of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig. His lawyers say it is a case of mistaken identity
A French journalist held by the Islamic State in Syria testified on Wednesday that he and other hostages were forced by their captors to sing a depraved parody of the Eagles song 'Hotel California' called 'Hotel Osama.'
'It was terrifying for us, a joke for them,' Nicolas Henin said at the trial of El Shafee Elsheikh, a 33-year-old former British national.
Elsheikh is accused of involvement in the murders of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig.
Henin is one of several former hostages who have testified at the trial in federal court of the alleged member of the notorious IS kidnap-and-murder cell known as the 'Beatles.'
Henin said the words to 'Hotel Osama' included the original lyrics from 'Hotel California' about checking in but never leaving, but with a twist.
'If you try, you'll die Mr Bigley style,' the lyrics went - a reference to British engineer Kenneth Bigley, who was beheaded in 2004 by Jordanian Abu Musab Zarqawi, head of the Al-Qaeda terror network in Iraq.
Henin said he was captured in June 2013 on his fifth reporting trip to Syria.
On Thursday, a former Doctors Without Borders (MSF) worker held for three months testified to the particularly brutal treatment meted out to American and British hostages.
Frida Saide, a Swede, revealed details of her captivity on the seventh day of the trial.
Saide said she arrived in Syria in November 2013 to work as a hospital administrator and lived in a house with nine international colleagues.
![Frida Saide, (pictured during a 2016 interview) a Swedish aid worker who was held hostage by jihadists, took the stand Thursday, reliving the day she pleaded with her captors to release Kayla Mueller, a 26-year-old American with whom she had shared a room for weeks in 2014](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/08/00/56349277-10697523-Frida_Saide_pictured_during_a_2016_interview_a_Swedish_aid_worke-m-65_1649374100752.jpg)
![French journalist Nicolas Henin was captured by ISIS in Syria in June 2013 and was held hostage for 10 months, eventually being freed in April 2014](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/08/00/56350501-10697523-French_journalist_Nicolas_Henin_was_captured_by_ISIS_in_Syria_in-a-66_1649374111995.jpg)
Swedish aid worker Frida Saide (left) and French journalist Nicolas Henin were captured by ISIS in Syria and held hostage
![The testimony came in the trial of El Shafee Elsheikh, 33 (pictured in a court room sketch on April 1) and 'The Beatles' – so-called because they were all from the UK – who are said to have captured 26 hostages between 2012 and 2015 in Syria](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/08/17/56114071-10697523-The_testimony_came_in_the_trial_of_El_Shafee_Elsheikh_33_picture-a-4_1649434157589.jpg)
The testimony came in the trial of El Shafee Elsheikh, 33 (pictured in a court room sketch on April 1) and 'The Beatles' – so-called because they were all from the UK – who are said to have captured 26 hostages between 2012 and 2015 in Syria
![Kayla Mueller (pictured) was kidnapped by ISIS terrorists while on a trip to Syria with her boyfriend in 2013. She was later forced to marry the terrorist group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/06/22/56276971-10693687-Kayla_Mueller_pictured_was_kidnapped_by_ISIS_terrorists_while_on-a-4_1649282628158.jpg)
Kayla Mueller (pictured) was kidnapped by ISIS terrorists while on a trip to Syria with her boyfriend in 2013. She was later forced to marry the terrorist group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
![Carl Mueller, the father of hostage Kayla Mueller, is pictured at court on Thursday](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/07/23/56352631-10697523-image-a-28_1649370659288.jpg)
Carl Mueller, the father of hostage Kayla Mueller, is pictured at court on Thursday
![Kassig, 26, - otherwise known as Abdul-Rahman Kassig - in Syria wrote a letter to his father shortly before his death. The letter was read out in court on Wednesday](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/06/23/56308861-10693687-image-a-12_1649282850511.jpg)
Kassig, 26, - otherwise known as Abdul-Rahman Kassig - in Syria wrote a letter to his father shortly before his death. The letter was read out in court on Wednesday
![Kassig was murdered in October 2014 by ISIS fighters in Syria](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/06/23/56310407-10693687-image-a-32_1649285767661.jpg)
Kassig was murdered in October 2014 by ISIS fighters in Syria
![Yancey Ellis, defense lawyer, is pictured arriving on Thursday](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/07/23/56352633-10697523-image-m-48_1649371005733.jpg)
![Nina Ginsburg, another of Elsheikh's defense team, pictured Thursday](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/07/23/56352637-10697523-image-a-49_1649371022697.jpg)
![Edward McMahon, a third member of the defense team](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/07/23/56352635-10697523-image-a-50_1649371022697.jpg)
Elsheikh's defense team are pictured arriving in court on Thursday: Yancey Ellis, Nina Ginsburg, and Edward McMahon
She and four other MSF workers - two women and two men - were seized by a group of armed men on January 2, 2014, she told the court.
'I went to take a shower,' Saide said.
'I could hear loud voices from outside.
'I thought it was our guards, then realized we were attacked.'
She said a masked man broke down the door, threw her some clothes and took her outside, where she was blindfolded, handcuffed and put into a vehicle.
For the first month, Saide said she and her MSF colleagues were moved among various prisons and placed with other Westerners taken hostage by IS.
She said that on January 31, 2014, three British guards arrived - the so-called 'Beatles' - and 'that completely changed everything.'
She said some of the male prisoners who had been held and tortured by the 'Beatles' described them as 'social psychopaths with no moral boundaries.'
'We realized soon it was an accurate description,' she said.
'They were very aggressive towards us, very hateful,' she said.
'They treated Americans the worst and then the British,' she said. 'But they hated all of us.'
Foley and Kassig were singled out for particularly harsh treatment.
Henin was held alone for two days in a bathroom but managed to escape by breaking bars on the windows with a broom.
After running the whole night, he arrived at a village at dawn and spoke to two men in pyjamas.
'Unfortunately they were IS fighters,' he said.
Returned to captivity, he was beaten and taken outside and 'hung in the air for a couple of hours' with his hands and feet chained together.
Henin was later placed with other hostages including Frenchman Pierre Torres and Danish photographer Daniel Rye Ottenson.
![Released French hostages speak to the media upon their arrival at the Villacoublay military airbase on April 20, 2014 in Paris. From left: Edouard Elias, Didier Francois, Nicolas Henin, Pierre Torres](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/07/22/56350495-10697523-image-a-13_1649368596924.jpg)
Released French hostages speak to the media upon their arrival at the Villacoublay military airbase on April 20, 2014 in Paris. From left: Edouard Elias, Didier Francois, Nicolas Henin, Pierre Torres
![Diane and John Foley, the parents of James Foley, an American journalist murdered by Islamic State militants, are seen at the trial last week](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/07/00/56308807-10693687-Diane_and_John_Foley_the_parents_of_James_Foley_an_American_jour-m-1_1649286681214.jpg)
Diane and John Foley, the parents of James Foley, an American journalist murdered by Islamic State militants, are seen at the trial last week
![Michael Foley, brother of James Foley, departs for a break from the trial at the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse on Tuesday](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/07/23/56261337-10693687-Michael_Foley_brother_of_James_Foley_a_US_journalist_slain_by_Is-a-18_1649369045592.jpg)
Michael Foley, brother of James Foley, departs for a break from the trial at the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse on Tuesday
![Pictured: James Foley while covering the civil war in Aleppo, Syria](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/06/23/53674691-10693687-Pictured_James_Foley_while_covering_the_civil_war_in_Aleppo_Syri-a-13_1649282866037.jpg)
James Foley is pictured while covering the civil war in Aleppo, Syria
British aid worker David Haines and Italian relief worker Federico Motka arrived later.
After being taken to another prison, three guards arrived one day speaking with British accents.
Haines and Motka told the other hostages they were the 'Beatles,' Henin said, using the nickname given to the jihadist jailers because of their British accents.
'They were terrified,' he said of Haines and Motka. 'Shaking.'
They were later joined by Sotloff, Foley, John Cantlie, a British journalist captured with Foley, Toni Neukirch, a German citizen, and five Doctors Without Borders (MSF) workers.
He said the Beatles would come around once or twice a week, 'sometimes for a round of beatings.'
After his release in April 2014, Henin provided the authorities with information that was used in a rescue attempt.
'I spent a long time with agencies, describing the location, giving details to the person in charge of preparing the raid,' Henin said.
![Alexanda Kotey and Shafee Elsheikh, in these undated handout pictures in Amouda, Syria released on February 9, 2018. The pair had been captured the month before. Kotey pleaded guilty in September 2021 and is facing life in prison](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/07/23/56351337-10697523-image-a-14_1649368893398.jpg)
Alexanda Kotey and Shafee Elsheikh, in these undated handout pictures in Amouda, Syria released on February 9, 2018. The pair had been captured the month before. Kotey pleaded guilty in September 2021 and is facing life in prison
![The fourth suspected 'Beatle', Aine Davis, is pictured in 2014. He is currently serving a prison sentence at a Turkish jail](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/07/23/56225119-10697523-The_fourth_suspected_Beatle_Aine_Davis_is_pictured_in_2014_He_is-a-20_1649369197263.jpg)
The fourth suspected 'Beatle', Aine Davis, is pictured in 2014. He is currently serving a prison sentence at a Turkish jail
![US freelance journalist Steven Sotloff](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/08/17/53674663-10697523-US_freelance_journalist_Steven_Sotloff-a-7_1649434159370.jpg)
![Kayla Mueller is shown after speaking to a group in Prescott, Arizona](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/07/23/53674683-10693687-Kayla_Mueller_is_shown_after_speaking_to_a_group_in_Prescott_Ari-a-19_1649369045597.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
![Marsha Mueller, right, the mother of American aid worker Kayla Mueller, is pictured on Wednesday outside the courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/04/07/22/56350593-10697523-image-a-11_1649368286790.jpg)
Marsha Mueller, right, the mother of American aid worker Kayla Mueller, is pictured on Wednesday outside the courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia
The US-led rescue mission was launched on July 4, 2014 but the hostages had been taken elsewhere just days earlier.
'They had been moved prior to the operation,' said Robert Daniel Story, an FBI special agent who was involved in preparations for the raid and took the witness stand after Henin.
'We were very disappointed,' Story said.
The 'Beatles' held at least 27 foreign hostages in Syria between 2012 and 2015.
A number of European journalists and aid workers were released after ransoms were paid but the Americans - Foley, Sotloff and Kassig - were killed and videos of their murders released by IS for propaganda purposes.
Mueller was reportedly handed over to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who allegedly raped her repeatedly before killing her.
Elsheikh and another former British national, Alexanda Amon Kotey, were captured in January 2018 by a Kurdish militia in Syria.
They were turned over to US forces in Iraq and flown to Virginia in 2020 to face charges of hostage-taking, conspiracy to murder US citizens and supporting a foreign terrorist organization.
Kotey pleaded guilty in September 2021 and is facing life in prison.
'Beatles' executioner Mohamed Emwazi was killed by a US drone in Syria in 2015, while the fourth member of the cell, Aine Davis, is imprisoned in Turkey after being convicted of terrorism.
Elsheikh has denied the charges, and his lawyers claim his arrest is a case of mistaken identity.
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