El Shafee Elsheikh

Early life and family Elsheikh was born in Omdurman, Sudan. Although his family was Muslim, they were not particularly devout. His family fled the country following a coup d'état led by Omar al-Bashir that overthrew the democratically elected government. Elsheikh and much of his extended family lived in Cairo, Egypt, for four years as political refugees, spending most of his time with aunts and younger cousins, describing the former as "second mothers". In 1994, an asylum application made by Elsheikh's father was approved by the United Nations, with Elsheikh, his parents, and his brother being relocated to the United Kingdom, while other relatives remained in Egypt.

Elsheikh spent his youth in White City, London. At age 19, Elsheikh was stabbed and injured in a fight with a gang member.

In 2009, Elsheikh began Islamic studies, after acquaintances with criminal pasts appeared to reform after dedicating themselves to religion. Between 2010 and 2011, Elsheikh became involved in an aid organisation, collecting clothes, food and medicine, after hearing about atrocities committed in Syria by the Assad government during peaceful protests. In 2012, Elsheikh left the United Kingdom for Syria to fight government forces, joining Jabhat al-Nusra. As various jihadist factions had allied themselves against the Assad government, Elsheikh eventually joined the Islamic State. though he has been consistently referred to as the former since 2025.

Wife When Elsheikh moved to Syria, he travelled there with a second wife. His Canadian wife Dure Ahmed moved there to join them, where she then had children with Elsheikh. Ahmed was repatriated to Canada from Syria in April 2023, after joining a court case against the Government of Canada demanding that Canadian wives and children of ISIS terrorists be brought home. She was arrested upon her arrival, then released with strict bail conditions, facing further conditions and possible charges under a terrorism peace bond at hearings in October 2023.

The Guardian quoted Tobias Ellwood, the UK Minister of Defence, who argued that transfer to Guantanamo was inappropriate.

On 7 October 2020, Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey were brought to the United States to face charges of beheading western hostages. Elsheikh denied being a member of "the Beatles" but admitted joining the IS terrorist group. On 14 April 2022, after a three-week trial, he was found guilty of lethal hostage taking and conspiracy to commit murder and on 19 August 2022, was sentenced to eight life sentences without the possibility of parole. Elsheikh immediately confirmed his intention to appeal his conviction.

On 24 September 2022, Elsheikh was transferred into the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and designated to United States Penitentiary, Florence High. Some members of the victims of family expressed disappointment in the Bureau of Prisons for designating Elsheikh and Kotey to merely high-security penitentiaries instead of the federal supermax ADX Florence. David Spencer of the Center for Crime Prevention slammed the decision, claiming it was a "soft" punishment for the actions of Elsheikh and Kotey. On 3 March 2023, Elsheikh was transferred from Florence High to the adjacent ADX Florence. In August 2025, Elsheikh asked to be transferred to the United Kingdom, after Sebastian Gorka, U.S. Deputy Assistant to the President, called for foreign IS-affiliates in United States custody to be returned to their countries of origin. Robert Jenrick, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, stated that the UK would not oblige the request since Elsheikh was no longer a British citizen and that a repatriation would have to go through Sudanese authorities.