Alexanda Kotey "not in BOP custody"

It has been reavealed that Alexanda Kotey, nicknamed Jihadi George, is listed as “not in BOP custody” on the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) website.

The Londoner is serving a life sentence at Canaan prison in Pennsylvania after pleading guilty to eight criminal charges in 2021. Kotey is known for being a member of the ISIS Beatles cell, who abducted, tortuted and beheaded hostages in Syria.

Speaking to the Independent, a BOP spokesperson confirmed that Kotey is not in custody, but not where he is or why he has been moved. The spokesperson said: “Inmates who were previously in BOP custody and who have not completed their sentence may be outside BOP custody for a period of time for court hearings, medical treatment or for other reasons,” he said.

“We do not provide specific information on the status of inmates who are not in the custody of the BOP for safety, security, or privacy reasons.”

Bethany Haines, daughter of David Haines who was killed by the ISIS cell has expressed concern. Speaking to Scotland's Daily Record, she said: “I was made aware that Kotey had disappeared from the system and it has been impossible to trace where he is.

“That doesn’t seem right because I don’t want to think that he has managed to negotiate his way into any kind of easy treatment on the basis of him assisting authorities or anything else.

“In the past he has been traceable, as we have access to data via the US victim notification scheme, and we at least had the reassurance that he was in a high security facility.

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