Diane Foley, mother of slain journalist James Foley, speaks after the sentencing of El Shafee Elsheikh at the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, on August 19, 2022. Elsheikh was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the kidnapping and subsequent beheading of James Foley and journalist Steven Sotloff, and the killing of aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig, and terrorism charges in the deaths of British and Japanese hostages. (AP/Andrew Harnik)

CPJ welcomes sentencing over killing of journalists James Foley, Steven Sotloff

Washington, D.C., August 19, 2022 — The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed Friday’s sentencing of Islamic State member El Shafee Elsheikh as an important milestone in the justice process. Elsheikh was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the kidnapping and subsequent beheading of journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, the killing of aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig, and terrorism charges in the deaths of British and Japanese hostages.

“Although it will never bring back the lives of those killed, the sentencing of El Shafee Elsheikh for his role in the deaths of Islamic State hostages, including the horrific beheadings of journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, is an important milestone in the justice process,” said Katherine Jacobsen, CPJ’s U.S. and Canada program coordinator. “The murders of Foley and Sotloff are poignant reminders of the heightened risks freelance journalists take when doing their jobs.”