El Shafee Elsheikh | |
|---|---|
| الشافعي الشيخ | |
| Born | (1988-07-16)16 July 1988 (age 37)[2] Omdurman, Sudan |
| Known for | A role inISIL atrocities as a member of the "Jihadi Beatles" |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated atADX Florence |
| Convictions |
|
| Criminal penalty | Eight concurrent life sentences without the possibility of parole[1] |
El Shafee Elsheikh (Arabic:الشافعي الشيخ;[3] born 16 July 1988), known asJihadi Ringo,[4] is a SudaneseWahhabi terrorist who took part in atrocities of theIslamic State between 2012 and 2015 as one of the four so-calledJihadi 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]
Elsheikh was born inOmdurman,Sudan. Although his family was Muslim, they were not particularly devout. His family fled the country followinga coup d'état led byOmar al-Bashir that overthrew the demcratically-elected government. Elsheikh and much of his extended family lived inCairo, 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 theUnited 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 inWhite 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 enteredvocational training, where he completedplumbing,bricklaying, andmechanical trades.[8] He studied mechanical engineering atActon 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 beganIslamic 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 ofEthiopian 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 theAssad government during peaceful protests.[8]
In 2011, Elsheikh took part in protests by the banned Islamist groupMuslims Against Crusades.[13] He was arrested at one such counter-rally to anEnglish Defence League (EDL) march on 11 September 2011, alongsideAlexanda 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, joiningJabhat al-Nusra. As variousjihadist factions had allied themselves against the Assad government, Elsheikh eventually joined theIslamic 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 themThe 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 aTelegram channel found a mobile phone was seized from his brother, who was arrested during the anti-gun crime intitiativeOperation Trident.[16]
On 30 March 2017, Elsheikh and four other men were named as suspected terrorists, by theUnited States State Department, underExecutive Order 13224.[18] ThisExecutive Order signed byUS PresidentGeorge W. Bush, shortly afteral-Qaeda's attacks on9/11, 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 theTurkish border to Syria as they fled from the collapse of the short-livedIslamic 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]
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]
The Independent reported that the United Kingdom government was considering agreeing that Kotey and Elsheikh could be transferred to theGuantanamo 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 theSupermaxprison inFlorence, Colorado, if they were convicted.[17]
Another option under consideration was trial at theInternational Court inThe Hague. According toThe 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 quotedTobias Ellwood, theUK Minister of Defence, who argued that transfer to Guantanamo was inappropriate.[26] In a face-to-face interview withJenan Moussa ofAl Aan TV inKobanî, 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 theFederal Bureau of Prisons and designated toUnited States Penitentiary, Florence High. Some members of the victims of family expressed disappointment in the Bureau of Prisons for designating Elsheikh and Kotey to merelyhigh-security penitentiaries instead of the federal supermaxADX 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, afterSebastian 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]
The bearded Kotey is seen in a tatty grey t-shirt after being captured in Syria in January, trying to smuggle himself into Turkey.
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)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.
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.
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.