The brother of an American journalist murdered by Islamic State terrorists told a judge that he watched his sibling being beheaded "multiple times", according to The New York Post. The journalist, James Foley, was killed by knife-wielding Islamic State executioner known as "Jihadi John" in 2014.
The video of Foley in an orange jumpsuit was uploaded on YouTube by the terror group and shocked the world.
Testifying against suspected Islamic State hostage taker El Shafee Elsheikh before a court in Virginia, United States, Foley's brother Michael said on Monday that the image of his brother's beheading "is burned into my brain".
Elsheikh was allegedly a member of the notorious IS kidnap-and-murder cell known to their captives as the "Beatles" because of their British accents. “Jihadi John” was also the part of the four-member group. He was killed in a drone strike in 2015.
The group abducted at least 27 people in Syria between 2012 and 2015, including a number of European journalists who were released after ransoms were paid.
But Michael said that the terror group made some “ridiculous” demands, including 100 million Euros and the release of Islamist prisoners, which showed that they were never serious about sparing his brother.
James Foley's mother said she initially hoped reports her son had been executed were "some cruel joke".
"I didn't want to believe it," Diane Foley told the court. "It just seemed too horrific," she added.
Foley said it sank in later that day when US president Barack Obama went on television to confirm that James had indeed been executed by his IS captors. The journalist's father also attended Monday's hearing but did not take the stand.
James Foley, born in New Hampshire, worked as a freelance photographer. He left for Syria in October 2012 to document the raging civil war in the country.
The war photographer was executed in Syria's Raqqa, at the age of 40.
Meanwhile, 33-year-old Elsheikh, the most high-profile IS member to face justice in the United States, has denied the charges, and his lawyers claim his arrest is a case of mistaken identity. He faces life in prison if convicted.
Elsheikh is charged with hostage-taking, conspiracy to murder US citizens and supporting a foreign terrorist organisation.
