SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23 , 2021. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A
BY PAUL DUGGANThe Washington Post is pub-
lishing the full, unedited video of
a 2019 interview with an accused
Islamic State militant, El Shafee
Elsheikh, saying that contrary to
Elsheikh’s assertions in federal
court, the raw footage does not
bolster his claim that he was
tortured while in custody over-
seas.
Elsheikh’s lawyers demanded
the video and other materials
from The Post in a subpoena
issued in advance of his sched-
uled trial in January. He is being
prosecuted in U.S. District Court
in Alexandria in the killings of
four American hostages of the
Islamic State, at least three of
whom were beheaded several
years ago.
In an Oct. 1 court filing, the
defense attorneys said that previ-
ously unpublished video from the
interview, conducted on camera
by Post journalists while Elsheikh
was being detained in Syria, could
help prove that he was tortured.
Elsheikh was being held at the
time by the Kurdish-led,
U .S.-allied Syrian Democratic
Forces (SDF).
The subpoena also seeks copies
of emails, text messages and other
communications between The
Post and “any agents of the Unit-
ed States” who helped set up the
interview. Elsheikh’s lawyers said
in the court filing they are seeking
the correspondence “as part of
the defense investigation into a
joint venture or working arrange-
ment” between U.S. of ficials and
the SDF related to the alleged
mistreatment.
After Judge T.S. Ellis III, who is
presiding in the case, ordered the
subpoena issued at the defense’s
request, The Post received the
demand earlier this month. On
Friday, the newspaper responded
by making all video from the
August 2019 interview — totaling
roughly two hours — available on
its website. The Post previously
had published only about 8½
minutes of the interview.
“Mr. Elsheikh has asserted that
the unpublished portions of our
interview support his claims of
torture and abuse,” The Post’s
chief communications officer,
Kristine Coratti Kelly, said in a
statement. “We disagree, which is
why we chose to publish the video
from that interview in its entire-
ty.”
Asked earlier this week about
the possible publication of the full
video, defense attorney Edward
B. MacMahon Jr. said, “Yes, that
would satisfy that part of the
subpoena.”
As for the other part of the
subpoena, Kelly did not specify
whether the newspaper plans to
challenge or comply with
Elsheikh’s demand for copies of
correspondence. In asking the
judge to authorize the subpoena,
the defense lawyers said they
wanted “any and all documents,
including emails or texts, that
would show how the interview
was arranged.”
Among publicly available rec-
ords in Elsheikh’s court file as of
Thursday, there was no indication
of The Post’s response regarding
the subpoena. M acMahon de-
cl ined to comment on the issue of
the correspondence.
Elsheikh’s impending trial
comes years after the Islamic
State horrified people around the
globe by decapitating hostages
and posting propaganda videos of
the killings online. Four of the
militants, allegedly including
Elsheikh, were dubbed “the Beat-
les” by captives because of their
British accents.
All are now dead or behind
bars, authorities said: Moham-
med Emwazi, the masked execu-
tioner nicknamed “Jihadi John,”
was killed in a 2015 drone strike;
Aine Davis was imprisoned in
Turkey four years ago; and Alex-
anda Kotey — Elsheikh’s former
co-defendant in federal court —
faces a mandatory life sentence
after pleading guilty last month
to being involved in the killings of
the four Americans.
Elsheikh is charged in the
de aths of journalists James Foley,
40, and Steven Sotloff, 31, and
humanitarian aid worker Peter
Kassig, 26, all of whom traveled to
Syria and were abducted in 2012
or 2013. They were beheaded in
videos made public months later.
Elsheikh also is charged in thekilling of aid worker Kayla Muel-
ler, 26, who was abducted in Syria
in 2013. The circumstances of her
death remain unclear.
After Elsheikh was captured,
he “spent almost two years in
custody overseas,” his lawyers
said in seeking the subpoena.
“First, he was detained by the
Syrian Democratic Forces... and
later was transferred to the cus-
tody of the United States Depart-
ment of Defense. While in SDF
custody El Sheikh experienced
abuse and torture.”
Around “the same time, and
under these conditions, El Sheikh
was interviewed by several media
outlets,” including the video ses-
sion with Post journalists in Au-
gust 2019. His attorneys said
Els heikh “recalls that at least part
of the footage that was not made
public [before now] will corrobo-
rate his allegations of torture and
abuse.”
As for emails and other corre-
spondence, the lawyers said, “any
coordination” between The Post
and U.S. officials “to allow thereporters to have access to Mr. El
Sheikh will support the defense
position regarding a joint venture
or working arrangement with the
United States and Mr. El Sheikh’s
jailers.”
In the interview, Elsheikh, clad
in short sleeves, sat in a chair
facing the journalists and spoke
mostly in a soft voice. When ques-
tioned about his interactions
with Islamic State hostages, he
said he was mainly tasked with
finding out their email addresses
and contact information for their
relatives.
“You didn’t do anything else
with the prisoners?” he was
asked.
“No interrogation or anything
like that,” he answered.
He was told that some former
hostages had described being tor-
tured.
“There is not much I can say
about that,” he replied. “I’m not
saying they were pampered. They
were prisoners in a Salafi-Jihadi
envi ronment by young people
who didn’t necessarily under-stand the law of their religion. So
I’m sure what they would have
experienced from the guards in
prison would have been harsh
treatment.”
He said: “I did some things that
were not Islamically justified. I
accept that. From the harsh treat-
ment. Yeah, I accept that.”
Elsheikh, who said he was born
in Sudan and moved to the United
Kingdom as a child, is charged
with four counts of hostage-taking
resulting in death and four con-
spiracy counts involving hostage-
taking resulting in death, murder-
ing a U.S. citizen outside the Unit-
ed States and giving material aid
to terrorists.
The Justice Department opted
not to seek the death penalty in
his case. He faces a mandatory life
sentence if convicted.
One of his interviewers in-
quired about the future Elsheikh
envisions for himself.
“I try not to think about much,”
he said. “I hope for the best. I
expect the worst.”
[email protected]Post publishes full 2019 interview with accused ISIS militant
El Shafee Elsheikh’s
lawyers say it could back
claims of abuse overseasTHE WASHINGTON POST
Accused Islamic State militant El Shafee Elsheikh, seen above in an August 2019 interview with Washington Post reporters, claims the full
footage bolsters his accusations of torture while in Syrian Democratic Forces custody. In making the footage available, The Post disagreed.“I try not to think about
much. I hope for the
best. I expect the
worst.”
El Shafee Elsheikh, responding to a
Washington Post reporter who asked
about his hopes for the future in an
August 2019 interview.Mah Jong, designed by Hans HopferPhoto by Michel Gibert and Baptiste Le Quiniou, for advertising purposes only. Zulma Editions. In-store interior design & 3D modeling services, conditions apply
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