Human rights groups condemn UK's stance on US death penalty for Isis pair
Source: The Guardian
Amnesty International says development is deeply worrying after Javid says UK seeks no assurances suspects would be spared execution
A marked departure in the UK’s stance towards the use of the death penalty has triggered widespread anger and condemnation among human rights and civil liberty campaigners.
It has emerged the home secretary, Sajid Javid, wrote to the US attorney general, Jeff Sessions, to confirm the UK would not demand a “death penalty assurance” in the case of two former Britons accused of being members of the Islamic State call known as the “Beatles”. The prime minister, Theresa May, was aware of the position adopted in the letter.
Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh are alleged to have been members of a four-man cell of Isis executioners in Syria and Iraq responsible for killing a series of high-profile western captives.
The position in Javid’s letter signals a shift in the UK government’s policy towards the death penalty, which up until now was considered to be one of “blanket opposition”.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jul/23/uk-will-not-oppose-us-death-penalty-for-isis-beatles
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The mother of one of the cell’s victims told Today she was “very against” any use of the death penalty if Kotey and Elsheikh were convicted.
“I think that you just make them martyrs in their twisted ideology,” said Diane Foley, whose son, James Foley, a US journalist, was killed in 2014. “I would like them held accountable by being sent to prison for the rest of their lives. That would be my preference.”
Execution would be too easy for them, she added. “In a way that allows them to take a much easier way out.”
