On Wednesday, a French journalist who was abducted by the Islamic State in Syria testified that his captors had forced him and other hostages to perform a grotesque version of the Eagles’ song ‘Hotel California,’ called ‘Hotel Osama.’
At the trial of El Shafee Elsheikh, a 33-year-old former British national, Nicolas Henin remarked, “It was terrifying for us, a joke for them.” Henin is one of several former prisoners who testified in federal court against a member of the notorious kidnapping and murder cell of ISIS known as the “Beatles.”
Elsheikh is charged with the assassinations of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as humanitarian workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig.
Henin stated that the lyrics of ‘Hotel Osama’ were a twist on the original lyrics from ‘Hotel California,’ which discussed checking in but never leaving. “If you attempt, you’ll die Mr Bigley style,” the lyrics said, alluding to British engineer Kenneth Bigley, who was beheaded in 2004 by Jordanian Abu Musab Zarqawi, the leader of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group in Iraq.
Between 2012 and 2015, the ‘Beatles’ abducted at least 27 international prisoners in Syria. A number of European journalists and charity workers were released after ransoms were paid, but the Americans were beheaded and films of their deaths were broadcast by IS for propaganda purposes.
Elsheikh, 33, grew up in West London after being born in Sudan. He is the fourth and final British terrorist to join ISIS. After travelling to Syria to join the terrorist organisation, he has been implicated in a number of hostage killings.
He was captured in 2018 together with one Alexande Kotey while attempting to flee to Turkey, and he has since been extradited to the United States, where he is now accused of terrorism and executing Western captives. Elsheikh has denied the claims, and his attorneys claim his incarceration was the result of a mistake.
