BRIT ISIS killer El Shafee Elsheikh – known as Jihadi Ringo – is rotting in a US hellhole jail, banged up 23 hours a day in a concrete box he’s desperate to flee.
The 37-year-old, part of the sick ISIS Beatles execution gang, is caged in a concrete cell just 87sq ft in size inside ADX Florence, Colorado – the fortress nicknamed the “Alcatraz of the Rockies”.
No one has ever escaped ADX Florence[/caption]
In the hopes of leaving the supermax prison, he has launched a bid to be transferred back to the UK — sparking fury from victims’ families.
Bethany Haines, whose aid worker dad David was butchered by the gang, blasted: “The idea someone this evil could be back in a British prison makes my skin crawl.”
LIFE INSIDE SUPERMAX
Elsheikh’s world is four concrete walls, a steel door, and a slit of a window.
Inmates eat alone in their cells, with food shoved through a slot, and are allowed out for just one hour a day to pace 31 steps in a cage with a pull-up bar.
His bed is a slab of concrete. Showers are rationed to three a week.
And phone calls are reduced to one 15-minute chat with a relative each month.
The jail, which holds 500 of the world’s most dangerous criminals including hate preacher Abu Hamza and shoe-bomber Richard Reid, was described by former prisons boss Norman Carlson as having “absolutely no concern for human life”.
One former warden called it a “clean version of hell”.
Another inmate claimed some prisoners are left in “total darkness”.
WHAT HAPPENED TO ‘THE BEATLES’?
ALL four members of the savage ‘Beatles’ terror cell were killed or jailed after their atrocities sent shockwaves around the world . . .
MOHAMMED EMWAZI — ‘JIHADI JOHN’
THE most notorious member, Emwazi was 27 when he was wiped out by a US-UK drone strike on the IS stronghold of Raqqa, Syria, in November 2015.
The fiend, who previously lived in Maida Vale and Queen’s Park in London, appeared as the masked executioner in gruesome videos showing the beheadings of western hostages including Brit David Haines.
AINE DAVIS — ‘JIHADI PAUL’
ARRESTED in Turkey on the same day Emwazi was killed, he denied being part of the ‘Beatles’ gang but was convicted of being in a terrorist organisation.
Davis, now 41, of Hammersmith, West London, was deported to the UK in 2022.
He admitted terrorism charges including possessing a firearm and was sentenced to eight years in November 2023. He’s still behind bars.
ALEXANDA KOTEY — ‘JIHADI GEORGE’
SEIZED by US-backed Kurdish forces in 2018 alongside Elsheikh.
Kotey, 41, of Westminster, central London, admitted being part of the hostage cell and carrying out torture and mock executions.
After capture, he was transferred to the US and given eight life sentences with no parole in August 2022.
He is at the same supermax prison as Elsheikh.
EL SHAFEE ELSHEIKH — ‘JIHADI RINGO’
ELSHEIKH was seized with Kotey and later moved to the United States.
He was a cental member of the murderous gang, and hostages identified him as the most brutal guard.
Now 34, he was sentenced to eight concurrent life sentences in August 2022 with no parole.
At trial, the judge called him “barbaric”.
He has now applied to be transferred to a UK jail.
Experts say ADX is designed to make inmates “docile or mad” – and at least 70 per cent of lags there suffer mental health issues.
Guards patrol with attack dogs and snipers keep watch outside razor-wire fences. Not a single prisoner has ever broken out.
FROM HELL TO CUSHY?
That’s a far cry from Britain’s Belmarsh prison – where inmates can climb through regimes from “basic” to “enhanced”, unlocking treats like Freeview TVs, games consoles, gym sessions, and even sought-after jobs such as cleaner or librarian.
Bethany warned: “Prisoners at HMP Belmarsh have work opportunities, learning opportunities, recreational activities, access to TVs and even have access to video game consoles.
“In addition, those who share the same views as Elsheikh highly praise him for his crimes and he would be treated as a ‘celebrity’ by some prisoners.
“He would pose a risk through his radicalisation of other prisoners.”
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick raged: “We stripped him of his citizenship precisely so he never steps foot on British soil again. If he wants to go home, he can go to Sudan.”
ADX Florence is one of the highest security prisons in the world[/caption]
A cell inside the ADX Supermax Prison in Florence, Colorado[/caption]
THE ISIS BEATLES
Elsheikh and his sick bandmates were behind the torture and killings of at least 27 hostages, including Brits David Haines and Alan Henning, as well as Americans James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and aid worker Kayla Mueller.
Captured in Syria in 2018 with fellow “Beatle” Alexanda Kotey, Elsheikh was convicted by a US jury in 2022 and handed eight life sentences.
Kotey is also locked away in the US after losing his British citizenship.
The group earned their Beatles nickname from hostages because of their British accents. “John” – Mohammed Emwazi – was killed in a US airstrike, while “Paul” – Aine Davis – is jailed in Turkey.
BID TO FLEE
Now Elsheikh has applied to leave his American cage for a UK cell “to be closer to family and friends”.
Victims’ relatives were sent a notice by the US Justice Department confirming his request.
Bethany fumed: “He left this country to bring terror to the world and inflicted the most appalling treatment on my father and others when he held him captive.
“He is one of the worst terrorists to come from this country and it’s an outrageous insult to our families for him to apply to return to one of our prisons for an easier life.
“He is manipulating the system to receive better conditions in prison and to cause further pain to the victims’ families.”
The Ministry of Justice insists no formal request has yet landed in London, but warned: “We have the right to refuse any request.”
