An alleged member of an ISIS terror cell, believed responsible for the torture and murder of Western hostages in Syria and Iraq, has appeared in a London court on terror charges.
Aine Davis, who denies being a part of the group, was arrested at Luton airport on Wednesday, after arriving on a flight from Turkey.
The 38-year-old, originally from west London, is charged with possession of a firearm for a purpose connected to terrorism.
He also faces two other charges relating to the raising of money for a terrorist purpose.
Aine Davis
Metropolitan Police
It is alleged that Davis was the fourth member of a notorious Islamic State execution squad nicknamed the Beatles, as all members were British.
‘The Beatles’ is a nickname given by hostages after the British accents of the four members who tortured over 27 hostages, including British charity works David Haines and Alan Henning.
The other three members of the group include Mohammed Emwazi, Alexanda Kotey, and El Shafee Elsheik – also known as Jihadi John, Jihadi George, and Jihadi Ringo.
A prison van carrying Aine Davis arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court
Victoria Jones
Emwazi, ringleader of the group, was killed in a drone attack in the days following Davis’ 2015 arrest.
While Davis denied being friends with Jihadi John, he did admit to knowing him from their mosque in West London.
Kotey is serving life imprisonment and Elsheik is awaiting sentencing following the guilty verdict of his April trial. Both men had the British citizenship stripped in 2018.
Although he denies being part of the group, Davis has spent the past six years in prison in Turkey, after he was convicted in a Turkish court of membership of Islamic State.
At Westminster Magistrates Court, he stood in the dock wearing prison issue grey clothing.
He spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and the fact he has no current address in the UK.
Davis was remanded back into custody.
He will appear at the Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey on 2 September.
Additional reporting: Isabelle Pethick + Tara Goodsell
