Alleged member of ‘The Beatles’ ISIS cell admits to terrorism charges in London court

A British man, Aine Leslie Davis, who was once suspected of being part of a notorious group known as 'The Beatles' from the Islamic State, has pleaded guilty to terrorism charges. Davis, 39, was deported from Turkey last year after serving a seven-and-a-half year sentence for being a member of the Islamic State, a militant group. Upon his arrival in Britain, he was arrested by counterterrorism police and charged with three offences. His legal team argued that the case should be dismissed as he could not be tried twice for the same crime. The British authorities were also accused of colluding with their Turkish counterparts in his deportation in an unsuccessful attempt by the then-Home Secretary Priti Patel to arrange his extradition to the US where two other members of the 'Beatles' group were being tried. Davis's lawyer, Mark Summers, highlighted the suspicion surrounding Davis's involvement with the Beatles cell from 2014 onwards. This suspicion led Davis to complain about mistreatment in his Turkish prison after he was questioned about it by British intelligence officers. Summers stated that in July last year, lawyers in the 'Beatles' case in Virginia clarified that they were not seeking to prosecute Davis as the evidence suggested there were only three members, not four, in that cell. Summers accused Patel of entering 'Alice in Wonderland territory' when she contacted US authorities pleading them to take Davis's case. Summers described the Home Secretary's personal involvement in trying to persuade a foreign country to prosecute a UK national as extraordinary. The prosecution disputed the defence's claims, which were rejected by Judge Mark Lucraft and later by the Court of Appeal. On Monday, Davis returned to court and pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm contrary to Section 57 of the Terrorism Act 2000, and two charges of funding terrorism between 2013 and 2014. He entered his pleas via video link from Belmarsh prison. Judge Lucraft postponed sentencing until November 13. The charges against Davis were largely based on his communications with his then-wife, Amal El-Wahhabi, 36, who remained in north London living on benefits. Davis, who adopted the name Hamza after converting to Islam, was born in London and spent time living in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates in 2007. He met El-Wahhabi at a London mosque and they both became increasingly interested in Islam. In July 2013, he travelled to Syria but maintained regular contact with El-Wahhabi via phone and internet. He involved her in a scheme to send him money by deceiving her friend Nawal Masaad, 36, to act as a courier with the promise of 1,000 euros. Masaad was stopped at Heathrow Airport as she was about to board a flight to Istanbul with 20,000 euros concealed in her tights. The prosecution alleged that the money raised in the UK was intended to support Davis's terrorist activities in Syria. Following El-Wahhabi's arrest in London, police discovered a collection of terrorist propaganda believed to have been left behind by Davis when he went to Syria. On her mobile phone was a picture sent by Davis in November 2013 in Syrian woods with a man holding a Kalashnikov rifle. Davis warned his wife not to show the picture to anyone but herself. He also sent another picture posing with 13 others in military-style clothes, all holding guns. When asked by El-Wahhabi if he was doing anything exciting, Davis replied that he was just 'on point', which is believed to be a reference to guard duty. The court heard that Davis, who had previous convictions for possession of drugs and a firearm, had gone to Syria to fight under the black flag of the Islamic State and that he was preoccupied with the idea of martyrdom. During her trial, El-Wahhabi claimed that Davis was always there for her and had left the country to find work. She said he was unhappy in London due to drugs, the influence of his friends, and constant police surveillance. After the trial in 2014, El-Wahhabi was found guilty of funding terrorism and sentenced to 28 months in prison, while Masaad was acquitted. El-Wahhabi was the first person to be convicted of funding terrorism in Syria. In November 2015, Davis was arrested in Istanbul for using a forged travel document and later imprisoned for IS membership. Davis has always denied any association with 'The Beatles' cell, named so because of their British accents, which was known for torturing and beheading western hostages in Syria. Two members of 'The Beatles', British nationals El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey, are currently serving life sentences in US prisons. The third member, Mohammed Emwazi, also known as Jihadi John, who was believed to be featured in horrific videos of IS beheadings, was killed in a drone strike in 2015.