ISIS hostage David Haines’ dying wish to hug his children revealed in tragic letter written before he was slaughtered by Jihadi John
A BRIT aid worker begged for a chance to hug his children in a tragic final letter before he was beheaded by ISIS 'Beatles' jihadis.
David Haines was captured in early 2013 and then beheaded in early September 2014 by Jihadi John.
After a year in ISIS captivity, he was forced to write a ransom letter urging his parents to raise £100m for his release.
He pleaded: "I only wish to have the chance to see my children and hug them again . . . I don’t think I would ever leave them again!!"
The 44-year-old father-of-two had been helping refugees in a camp near the Turkish border when he was snatched by militants.
While writing the letter, he was watched by Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh - two members of the 'Beatles' cell.
David's heartbreaking letter in full
Dear Mum and Dad,
The group have told us to write the letters so that you can raise the money needed to release all the British and American hostages.
This will only be possible with all the help from Acted [a French humanitarian charity] and the governments, as well as the public. To release us, they want €100m. I can only hope that this is not impossible. They have released other hostages and also killed one.
I am so sorry to put you through this ordeal and maybe you can forgive me one day. I know you will try your hardest. They are releasing the French.
So this group do what they say they will do. As there are American and British it may be a miracle but this amount could be raised.
If not I fear the worst!! My health is still deteriorating but I have been receiving good treatment as well as medication that seems to contain the problem.
We are being treated well at the moment but this can change at any second. Please keep in contact and continue to push Acted to work on raising the ransom for us.
I hope they are supporting you and hope they helped you to cope with the situation. I only wish to have the chance to see my children and hug them again, maybe one day they will forgive me too. I don’t think I would ever leave them again!!
I know Dragana [Haines’s wife] is strong but I am sure this is killing her.
Lots of love, D x
The letter - obtained by The Sunday Times - is understood to be part of the evidence held by UK authorities against Jotey and Elsheikh.
David's daughter Bethany told ITV News in June that believes "justice will be served" when suspected terrorists Kotey and Elsheikh face justice.
She said: "When they go on trial, they'll face a tough sentence. They'll also have to face me sitting in the courtroom.
"Whether he will reveal the truth or not is kind of up to him.
"I think, for myself, I tend not to think about him, I tend not to think about Jihadi John, I tend not to think about Elsheikh.
"They did what they did and justice will be served.
"But, for me, I don't speak about them, I don't want to think about them, I don't want to give them any ammunition or support for them to be martyrs.
"They can do what they want to do but their actions have consequences."
Kotey and Elsheikh were raised in the UK but have been stripped of their British citizenship.
They were captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces in January 2018.
They are said to have been members of the cell that also included Mohammed Emwazi, known as Jihadi John, who was killed in a US air strike in 2015, and Aine Davis, who has been jailed in Turkey.
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Emwazi appeared in a number of videos in which hostages - including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning and US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff - were killed.
In June the CPS revealed it now believes there is enough evidence to charge Kotey with five offences of murder and eight of hostage taking.
Elsheikh could also be charged with membership of a terrorist organisation due to the evidence gathered.
'Death squad': Who are the alleged members of the ISIS 'Beatles' executioners
Mohammed Emwazi (Jihadi John):
Emwazi fronted a number of IS propaganda videos where Western hostages were shown executed.
Originally from Kuwait, he was educated in North London, and graduated from the University of Westminster in 2009 in computer programming.
In the UK he came under surveillance from intelligence services after travelling to Tanzania and Kuwait.
He was linked with a number of high-profile suspected jihadists that MI5 were tracking.
His family reported him missing in 2013.
In 2014 he appeared in number of videos where Western hostages including US journalist James Foley and UK aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning were beheaded.
The last known video appearance from him was January 2015.
He was killed in a US drone strike on November 12, 2015.
Alexanda Kotey:
He attended the same al-Manaar mosque in West London as Emwazi.
Kotey was identified as one of the gang by the US state department, which said he was likely to have been a recruiter of UK nationals to the group.
He was captured by members of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in January 2018.
Aine Davis:
He was arrested near Istanbul in 2015, and convicted in Turkey in 2017 of being a senior member of a terrorist organisation.
In London he had lived in Hammersmith and had a number of drug convictions.
In 2006 he was jailed for possessing a firearm.
After converting to Islam, he changed his name to Hamza and met Emwazi.
The two were part of a group that radicalised Muslims living in London. He left the UK to join ISIS in 2013.
After being arrested he denied being part of the terror group, or "the Beatles" cell.
El Shafee Elsheikh:
The son of Sudanese refugees, Elsheikh went to Syria in 2012 and joined al-Qaeda there before aligning himself with ISIS.
He and Kotey were detained after Kurdish fighters suspected they were foreign terrorists.
They are each being held in northern Syria.
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