Family of slain journalist testifies about ransom demands

By MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Family members of slain journalist James Foley testified that his Islamic State captors never made serious attempts to negotiate a ransom before brutally executing him in 2014. Foley’s brother and mother took the witness stand at federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, at the terror trial of El Shafee Elsheikh. He’s a British national accused of played a leading role in a hostage-taking scheme that resulted in the deaths of Foley and three other Americans. Emails sent to the Foleys sought either the release of Muslim prisoners or 100 million euros. Previous testimony indicates the captors made more reasonable and flexible demands while negotiating demands of European hostages.