Let me
summarise
their
alleged
crimes.
Elsheikh,
30, who was
born in
Sudan but
raised in
London, is
accused of
supervising
the torture
and killing
of Western
hostages by
ISIS.
Kotey, 34,
London
born-and-bred,
is charged
with being
part of the
same ISIS
cell which
beheaded 27
hostages
and,
according to
reliable
testimonies,
displayed
horrendous
cruelty and
unbelievable
sadism.
They are
believed to
have been
part of a
four-man
killing
machine
known as
'The
Beatles'.
Seldom was a
nickname so
fatuously
bestowed. If
the 'fab
four' who
made up the
pop group
were
fetching and
creative,
the ISIS
killers are
repulsive
and deadly.
So why can't
they be
tried in
their own
country? The
fact that
they have
been
deprived of
their
British
citizenship
by the
Government
is beside
the point.
They are
citizens of
no other
country. And
their
historical
relationship
is with
Britain.
Kotey,
34 (mugshot
pictured)
London
born-and-bred,
is
charged
with
being
part of
the same
ISIS
cell
which
beheaded
27
hostages
and,
according
to
reliable
testimonies,
displayed
horrendous
cruelty
and
unbelievable
sadism
I can think
of three
possible
reasons for
our handing
the problem
over to the
Americans.
The first is
that under
existing
legislation
our courts
are unable
to apply the
very lengthy
sentences
that can be
handed down
by American
judges.
These two
presumed
monsters
could be
walking free
in 20 or 25
years if
convicted
here.
Moreover, as
a result of
the Human
Rights Act
our courts
are swarming
with lawyers
who might
well argue
that because
Kotey and
Elsheikh
were
captured and
held by
rough-hewn
Kurdish
militia,
they have
not been
treated as
they should
have been.
Shock
horror!
And then
there is the
reluctance
of our
intelligence
services to
allow their
practices to
be revealed
in open
court out of
fear that
would-be
terrorists
might learn
things about
spooks which
they
shouldn't.
For all
these
reasons, the
Home
Secretary,
Sajid Javid,
has
gratefully
washed his
hands of the
case.
Elsheikh,
30
(pictured)
who was
born in
Sudan
but
raised
in
London,
is
accused
of
supervising
the
torture
and
killing
of
Western
hostages
by ISIS
There was no
attempt to
secure an
undertaking
that the
death
penalty
wouldn't be
applied in
the United
States,
presumably
because
there was no
prospect
Washington
would give
such an
assurance.
Now, of
course, the
Labour Party
is up in
arms,
principally
because it
is so
opposed to
the death
penalty.
Diane
Abbott, the
Shadow Home
Secretary,
hyperventilated
that the
Government's
position was
'abhorrent
and
shameful'.
Meanwhile,
Labour's
Hilary Benn
piously (and
idiotically)
opined that
'we have to
show we are
better than
Islamic
State in our
morals, and
should
therefore
have nothing
to do with
capital
punishment'.
In my humble
opinion, the
prospect
that these
two alleged
killers
might be
sentenced to
death if
found guilty
of
horrendous
crimes by an
American
court is by
far the
least
troubling
aspect of
this affair.
No, what
worries me
is that our
courts are
considered
too
unreliable,
and our
legalisation
too weak,
for these
seemingly
wicked men
to be tried
in the
country in
which they
were brought
up, and
which they
have more
right to
call their
own than any
other.
Pictured:
Alexandra
Kotey is
seen
fighting
for ISIS
abroad
Isn't the
Government
being
particularly
supine in
asking
dependable
old Uncle
Sam to deal
with a
problem that
we are too
querulous to
address
ourselves? I
can see no
other
plausible
interpretation.
Which is why
a report by
the Policy
Exchange
think-tank
advocating a
new treason
law should
be welcomed.
Believe it
or not, the
Treason Act
of 1351 is
still on the
statute
book, shorn
of a few
provisions
over the
years. It
has not been
used since
1945.
As the
report
argues,
treason —
the crime of
aiding and
abetting
one's
country's
declared
enemies — is
extremely
serious.
A new law is
needed which
envisages
very severe
jail
sentences
for those
convicted of
treason.
If there
were such a
law, there
is little
doubt that,
as former UK
citizens,
Kotey and
Elsheikh
would stand
trial in a
British
court
instead of
being
dispatched
to the
United
States.
For as well
as being
accused of
carrying out
mass murder
in the most
ferocious
fashion,
they also
stand
charged with
working for
an
organisation,
namely
Islamic
State, which
was and
remains an
enemy of the
United
Kingdom and
is
effectively
at war with
it. That's
treason.
And that
brings me to
another
thought,
which may
rattle a few
teacups.
Why do we
assume that
the
abolition of
the death
penalty as
it applies
to criminal
law should
also cover
acts of
treason
committed in
the
circumstances
of war?
The Home
Secretary,
Sajid
Javid
(pictured
outside
Downing
Street)
has
gratefully
washed
his
hands of
the
case,
writes
Stephen
Glover
After all,
no one
objects very
much when a
terrorist in
the throes
of some
atrocity is
shot dead by
the police
or Army.
I'm not
clear why we
are so
certain that
a person
convicted of
such an
abominable
crime
shouldn't
receive the
ultimate
punishment.
Interestingly,
although the
death
penalty for
murder was
abolished in
1965, it
remained on
the statute
book until
1998 in
respect of
high
treason,
though was
never used.
It was
deemed
incompatible
with the
European
Convention
on Human
Rights,
which was
incorporated
into the
Human Rights
Act by New
Labour in
the same
year.
I'm not —
quite —
recommending
the
restoration
of capital
punishment
for treason,
and the
Policy
Exchange
report
certainly
does not.
I have too
much
residual
modern
liberal
sensibility
to argue
unequivocally
in favour of
that. But
can't we
have an
intelligent
discussion
about the
issue?
It is
undeniable
that Western
democracies
are
threatened
by merciless
and ruthless
combatants
such as
Kotey and
Elsheikh
appear to
be.
Diane
Abbott,
the
Shadow
Home
Secretary
(pictured
at PMQs)
hyperventilated
that the
Government's
position
was
'abhorrent
and
shameful'
I don't for
a moment
think people
like them
will
succeed.
There aren't
enough of
them, for
one thing.
But it is
feeble, as
well as
potentially
dangerous,
to treat the
mortal
enemies of
our society
and way of
life as
though they
were
commonplace
murderers.
Whatever new
measures are
adopted —
and the
Policy
Exchange's
proposals
for a new
treason law
would be an
excellent
start — it
is obvious
we need a
legislative
armoury
strong
enough
either to
deter
home-grown
traitors, or
deliver
fitting
punishments
to those who
commit
outrages.
If Kotey and
Elsheikh
were to be
tried in
this
country, we
might
understand
how it was
that two
young men
who enjoyed
the benefits
of living in
a free
society
should
seemingly
have done
their utmost
to destroy
it.
And such a
trial, if it
had led to a
conviction,
would have
given the
British
people the
satisfaction
of seeing
justice
meted out to
two British
traitors who
appear to
hate, and
wanted to
damage,
their
country.
As it is,
though, I
don't doubt
they will
receive a
fair trial
in the
United
States, it
will
inevitably
be conducted
in the
margins of
our
attention.
Why can't we
hold our own
monsters to
account?
British
justice for
British
terrorists
is the best
approach.