Alexanda Kotey, an Islamic State group terrorist known as “Jihadi George,” is not in the custody of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. He’s supposed to be an inmate in Pennsylvania. Now, family of his victims want answers.
39-year-old Kotey grew up in Shepherd’s Bush, West London. His father was Ghanaian and his mother Greek Cypriot. It is believed he worked as a drug dealer before being radicalized.
Kotey joined the Islamic State group, largely known as ISIS, in 2012. He was part of the infamous “ISIS Beatles,” a group of four Islamic State fighters identified by hostages for their British accents.
Led by “Jihadi John,” the ISIS Beatles led a hostage-taking scheme. They are believed to be responsible for the abduction and brutal murders of 27 people, including the beheadings of British aid worker David Haines and American journalist James Foley.
Kotey was captured in 2018 with El Shafee Elsheikh, another Londoner believed to be a member of the ISIS Beatles. The two were caught while trying to flee to Turkey.
In 2021, Kotey pleaded guilty to eight charges including lethal hostage taking and conspiracy to support terrorists. He was sentenced to life in prison. He was supposed to be serving the first 15 years of that sentence at Canaan Penitentiary in Pennsylvania. Then, he was to be transferred to a prison in the UK.
However, an inmate search shows the Bureau of Prisons does not have custody of the convicted terrorist. A Bureau of Prisons spokesperson said there are several reasons why an inmate might not be referenced in the system, like court hearings or medical treatments.
David Haines’ daughter, Bethany Haines, told Scottish media she thinks Kotey may be helping authorities with other ongoing cases. One of the conditions of Kotey’s sentencing was agreeing to “cooperation requirements.”
Bethany Haines said she doesn’t think it is right Kotey can disappear from the system while the people whose lives he devastated are left to wonder where he is.
“I don’t want to think that he has managed to negotiate his way into any kind of easy treatment on the basis of him assisting authorities or anything else,” she said.