ISIS hostages forced to sing 'Hotel Osama' a twisted take on Eagles' 'Hotel California'
A former prisoner, Syria Nicolas Henin, shared a shocking revelation in his testimony earlier this week. Hernin disclosed how he and the other ISIS hostages were forced to sing the Eagles' song 'Hotel California' but with a twist while being detained by US forces in Syria.
Journalist Nicolas Henin recalled the horrifying circumstances through which the hostages had to go through. This happened during the terrorism trial of a former British citizen El Shafee, 33, who is an alleged member of an ISIS group named 'The Beatles'.
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The hostages were forced to sing 'Hotel Osama' which included a lyric that went like, "you will never leave, /if you try, you will die," Henin testified to this on Wednesday, April 6, as reported by BBC. Shafee Elsheikh and his group was given this nickname (The Beatles) only because of their British accent. He is the highest-profile IS fighter who had to face trial in the United States and is accused of kidnapping and conspiracy to murder.
The lyrics contained another line that said, "Mr. Bigley Style'. This is in reference to Kenneth Bigley, a British engineer who was beheaded by Al Qaeda 18 years ago, in 2004. Talking about the conduct of the US forces, Henin said, "It was terrifying for us, a joke for them."
Shafee Elsheikh is assumed to be one of the three members of the group nicknamed 'The Beatles' who was involved in schemes that dealt with kidnapping and torturing. This also included beating up at least 20 prisoners. This group beheaded four Americans and recorded the footage. They then shared the gruesome footage online.
Journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff were killed, as were aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig. Shafee Elshiekh is believed to be the man who is named Ringo who also preached the reason for their imprisonment.
Henin, who testified in the trial that has lasted for almost 14 days, said, "They were trying to explain to us that even though we were not carrying weapons, we were still somehow a kind of fighter in the war between the infidel West and Islam." Peter Kassig's father, Ed Kassig was reading a letter his son wrote to him in 2014 when he was captured. This letter was delivered to him by his son's fellow captive. It read, "Dad, I’m paralyzed here. I’m afraid to fight back. Part of me still has hope. Part of me is sure I’m going to die."