Dubai Telegraph - James Foley's mother, brother testify at trial of IS 'Beatle'

EUR -
AED 3.804709
AFN 77.173939
ALL 98.583483
AMD 410.170979
ANG 1.869121
AOA 946.266488
ARS 1091.696847
AUD 1.652874
AWG 1.867189
AZN 1.75698
BAM 1.947609
BBD 2.093953
BDT 126.010038
BGN 1.95527
BHD 0.390354
BIF 3069.82991
BMD 1.035888
BND 1.398989
BOB 7.166858
BRL 6.022445
BSD 1.037118
BTN 90.680748
BWP 14.394184
BYN 3.393993
BYR 20303.411698
BZD 2.083198
CAD 1.487002
CDF 2957.461198
CHF 0.937629
CLF 0.026208
CLP 1005.650783
CNY 7.551362
CNH 7.555443
COP 4326.470573
CRC 526.276472
CUC 1.035888
CUP 27.451041
CVE 109.802144
CZK 25.116205
DJF 184.679725
DKK 7.459421
DOP 64.109138
DZD 140.378603
EGP 52.090059
ERN 15.538325
ETB 130.831589
FJD 2.396323
FKP 0.853144
GBP 0.83723
GEL 2.894167
GGP 0.853144
GHS 15.971827
GIP 0.853144
GMD 74.583747
GNF 8966.117981
GTQ 8.0182
GYD 216.977455
HKD 8.065649
HNL 26.570814
HRK 7.644388
HTG 135.656847
HUF 405.712934
IDR 16938.276593
ILS 3.67961
IMP 0.853144
INR 90.726365
IQD 1358.586178
IRR 43610.899592
ISK 146.55742
JEP 0.853144
JMD 163.769651
JOD 0.734858
JPY 157.76164
KES 133.751058
KGS 90.588209
KHR 4161.16358
KMF 489.923611
KPW 932.299632
KRW 1501.748589
KWD 0.319613
KYD 0.864257
KZT 536.1101
LAK 22552.152144
LBP 92872.60801
LKR 309.627795
LRD 206.378049
LSL 19.311296
LTL 3.058709
LVL 0.626598
LYD 5.094476
MAD 10.380642
MDL 19.414162
MGA 4867.639514
MKD 61.484154
MMK 3364.52496
MNT 3519.948731
MOP 8.319311
MRU 41.348303
MUR 48.345228
MVR 15.963466
MWK 1798.319426
MXN 21.359003
MYR 4.594183
MZN 66.203332
NAD 19.311296
NGN 1556.409493
NIO 38.079586
NOK 11.649528
NPR 145.088
NZD 1.829674
OMR 0.398845
PAB 1.037138
PEN 3.849882
PGK 4.148211
PHP 60.192879
PKR 288.960873
PLN 4.202068
PYG 8171.475361
QAR 3.781559
RON 4.97465
RSD 117.058453
RUB 100.560324
RWF 1446.100139
SAR 3.885187
SBD 8.742296
SCR 14.903437
SDG 622.558829
SEK 11.30683
SGD 1.401546
SHP 0.853144
SLE 23.716661
SLL 21722.060714
SOS 592.701546
SRD 36.364899
STD 21440.797435
SVC 9.074747
SYP 13468.620337
SZL 19.300455
THB 34.985578
TJS 11.320091
TMT 3.635968
TND 3.292569
TOP 2.426158
TRY 37.181296
TTD 7.02439
TWD 34.016809
TZS 2635.071065
UAH 43.166438
UGX 3816.94702
USD 1.035888
UYU 45.129762
UZS 13466.548468
VES 61.517319
VND 26176.898654
VUV 122.982745
WST 2.901344
XAF 653.203508
XAG 0.032282
XAU 0.000361
XCD 2.79954
XDR 0.795447
XOF 652.095783
XPF 119.331742
YER 257.884301
ZAR 19.252985
ZMK 9324.238051
ZMW 29.064203
ZWL 333.555627
  • RIO

    1.1650

    62.535

    +1.86%

  • GSK

    -0.4850

    37.215

    -1.3%

  • NGG

    -0.9200

    61.75

    -1.49%

  • CMSC

    0.1000

    23.6

    +0.42%

  • SCS

    0.0350

    11.595

    +0.3%

  • BCC

    1.3650

    126.115

    +1.08%

  • BTI

    0.1970

    41.297

    +0.48%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0600

    7.44

    -0.81%

  • BP

    0.3450

    32.015

    +1.08%

  • CMSD

    0.1520

    23.972

    +0.63%

  • BCE

    -0.9900

    23.91

    -4.14%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    12.85

    +0.16%

  • AZN

    3.2050

    74.14

    +4.32%

  • RBGPF

    -0.7000

    65.3

    -1.07%

  • RELX

    -0.4000

    50.37

    -0.79%

  • VOD

    0.1350

    8.405

    +1.61%

James Foley's mother, brother testify at trial of IS 'Beatle'
James Foley's mother, brother testify at trial of IS 'Beatle'

James Foley's mother, brother testify at trial of IS 'Beatle'

The mother of slain American journalist James Foley said Monday at the trial of one of his alleged Islamic State captors that she initially hoped reports her son had been executed were "some cruel joke."

Text size:

"I didn't want to believe it," Diane Foley testified at the trial of El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, who is charged with the murders of James Foley and three other Americans in Syria.

"It just seemed too horrific," Foley said. "I was hoping it was just some cruel joke."

Foley said it sank in later that day when US president Barack Obama went on television to confirm that James had indeed been executed by his IS captors.

Elsheikh, a former British national, is accused of involvement in the murders of Foley, Steven Sotloff, who was also a journalist, and aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.

Diane Foley, who worked tirelessly to try to obtain her son's release, said James, a seasoned combat reporter, left for Syria in October 2012 and promised to be back for Christmas.

The family began to worry when he did not call in November on Thanksgiving.

"Jim always called us on the holidays," she said. "There was a deafening silence when we did not hear from him."

She said the family was informed by a colleague of James that he had been kidnapped.

"Those first nine months, we didn't know if Jim was alive or not," she said.

The first tangible proof that James was alive came when his captors provided emailed answers to three questions that only he would know.

- 'Ridiculous' demands -

Michael Foley, 46, James's younger brother, also testified on Monday and told the court the kidnappers never engaged in any serious negotiations.

At one point, he said, they asked the Foleys to "pressure the government to release Muslim prisoners."

They then asked for a ransom of 100 million Euros.

"This was as ridiculous as the previous one," he said. "There was no ability to secure either of those demands."

There were no communications from the kidnappers from December 2013 to August 2014, when the Foleys received a threatening email.

It warned that James would be executed in retaliation for a US bombing campaign against the Islamic State.

He was killed several days later in a gruesome video that was released on the internet.

Michael Foley said he was also informed of his brother's death in a call from a journalist seeking reaction.

He said he went online and watched the video of his brother in an orange jumpsuit and the knife-wielding IS executioner known as "Jihadi John."

"I watched it once or twice," he said. "I haven't seen it since but it's burned into my brain."

Elsheikh was allegedly a member of the notorious IS kidnap-and-murder cell known to their captives as the "Beatles" because of their British accents.

The group abducted at least 27 people in Syria between 2012 and 2015, including a number of European journalists who were released after ransoms were paid.

Videos of the brutal executions of Foley, Sotloff and Kassig were 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 while attempting to flee to Turkey.

They were turned over to US forces in Iraq and flown to Virginia in October 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. Under his plea agreement, Kotey will serve 15 years in jail in the United States and then be extradited to Britain to face further charges.

"Beatles" executioner Mohamed Emwazi was killed by a US drone in Syria in November 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. He faces life in prison if convicted.

O.Mehta--DT