Islamic State Family members told a court that the terrorists who kidnapped American journalist James Foley never made serious efforts to negotiate a ransom.
Foley’s brother and mother testify in US District Court in Alexandria Terrorist trial of Briton Al Shafi Elsheikh accused of leading role in hostage planning The resulting deaths resulted in the deaths of Foley and three other Americans – Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.
James FoleyA freelance photographer who grew up in New Hampshire, left for Syria in October 2012. He was well aware of the potential dangers of spending more than a month in captivity in Libya while on assignment during that country’s civil war.
His mother, Diane Foley, testified that she became very concerned about her son when she failed to call him as he usually would on Thanksgiving.
By late November, the day after Thanksgiving, he had actually received an email from James’ captive demanding a line of communication be established.
James’ brother Michael Foley said emails were exchanged in November 2012 and January 2013 demanding the release of Muslim prisoners, or €100m.
“We had no ability to secure any of those demands,” he said. “It’s not a reasonable demand. It’s not a conversation in my mind.”
The captors gave evidence that they were in Foley’s possession and that James was still alive by giving personal details about the life that only he and his family would know.
But despite repeated attempts to engage the hostage-takers in negotiations, Foley received no response to several emails for nearly eight months. Finally, in August 2013, he received an email titled: “A message to the US government and its sheeplike citizens.”
Email criticizes America for its recent bombing campaign Islamic State,
It promised retribution, “the first of which is the blood of your American citizen, James Foley. He will be put to death as a direct result of your crimes against us!”
a few days later, Foley was beheaded in a gruesome video that circulated on the Internet.
Both foley testified that they first learned of James’ death from reporters seeking a response. Michael Foley said he found the video readily available on the Internet and watched it over and over again. Diane Foley said she kept hoping it was a cruel joke. She called the FBI and other government officials with whom she was in contact, but no one answered throughout the day. His first official confirmation came on the evening news, when then-President Barack Obama confirmed the beheading.
Refusal to speak in serious words contradicts earlier testimony, where the negotiators for the European hostages engaged in protracted discussions that resulted in the release of the hostages. One of the hostages was released after raising €2m, a negotiated figure that was part of what Foley demanded.
Elsheikh is known as one of the “Beatles”, a nickname given to him by his brothers and at least two other Brits because of his pronunciation. Elsheikh and a longtime friend, Alexandra Cote, are captured and brought together. Virginia facing trial. Kote had confessed to his crime last year in a petition seeking life imprisonment.
A third Beatle, Mohamed Emwazi, acted as the executioner in the video of Foley’s execution. Emwazi was killed in a drone strike.
There have been conflicting statements during the trial regarding the existence of the fourth member of the group. The fourth person in earlier public discussions, a man identified as Ann Davies, is serving a prison sentence in Turkey.
Defense lawyers have uncovered discrepancies in the identities of the Beatles, and say there is insufficient evidence to prove that Elsheikh participated in the hostage-taking scheme. Prosecutors, however, plan to present evidence later in the trial that Elsheikh has confessed to his role under questioning from interrogations and media interviews.