The daughter of a British aide who was beheaded on camera by ISIS terrorist ‘Jihadi John’ has found out she was sick after watching his execution alone in a bathroom.
Bethany Haines, 23, said she turned to self-harm and alcohol after her father and humanitarian aid worker David Haines, 44, was killed in 2014.
It was the birth of her son Aiden, now five, that turned her life around and gave her purpose, Bethany revealed.
She was only 16 years old when her father was kidnapped by terrorists in Syria in 2013. More than a year later, ISIS released a propaganda video in which he was executed by Mohammed Emwazi, known as Jihadi John.
Bethany returned to Syria in October 2019 to understand her father’s recent movements and find answers about his death.
Bethany Haines, 23 (right), announced that she was sick after watching the execution of her father David Haines (left) by ISIS terrorists
Bethany visited Syria in 2019 to find answers to her father’s death. In the picture Bethanien with Mustafa Bali, spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces
Bethany (pictured) said she turned to self-harm and alcohol following the death of her father (right) in 2014
In the picture Bethany with her father as a child
The student from Perth, Scotland told the Real Fix podcast that after being asked about the footage and its authenticity, she locked herself in a bathroom and watched the video alone. She remembers being physically ill afterwards.
Bethany said, ‘At first when you see it all I thought,’ this is too good [quality] to be real “. At first I thought,” oh ok, yeah whatever, they won’t really do it “.
“And it came more towards the end and the way they talked and the speech my father made and it was almost the look in his eyes that said to me,” You know what that actually is. “
She continued, “I was angrier than anything, and when the final scene was tailored to his remains it was more – I think I was physically ill with it that day.
After that it was more anger. I thought “this is not right”. It’s something that will stay with me forever. ‘
Bethany, pictured with her father, said she locked herself in a bathroom to watch the harrowing video
David (pictured) was a humanitarian worker in a camp for displaced persons in Syria
David was working as a humanitarian worker in a camp for locals who were forced to flee their homes when he was kidnapped on March 12, 2013.
Bethany found out a month later on April 6 and was initially told to remain silent about the kidnapping for fear of halting the rescue effort.
His execution was filmed and released in 2014. He and his colleague Alan Henning were murdered by four British militants in the so-called Beatles’ cell.
David was beheaded in 2014 after being detained by a four-man terrorist cell called “The Beatles”, which included Mohammed Emwazi – also known as Jihadi John (picture)
After turning to self-harm and alcohol to ease the pain of losing her father, Bethany gave birth to a baby boy, Aiden, now five, who gave her a new purpose.
She said, “I felt really lost after my father died, I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know what my life could be after. How does someone get over something like that?
“My son looks so much like my father as if he gave me something to live because he was taken away.
“It really was perfect timing because it distracted me from this party lifestyle and it took me away from reality.
“He now knows about his grandpa and will always be a part of his life.”
For answers about her father’s death, Bethany visited the hills of Raqqa, Syria, in 2019 and found the spot where she believes her father was executed.
She said, “I found the place where my father was executed. I really wanted to see and visit this place because I think the remains are nearby.
“It was also an opportunity for me to see what my father did. I had never been in a country in crisis and I had never seen the consequences of the war firsthand. I wanted to see what, in the face of the dangers, made my father do such a thing.
“I also wanted to see the kind of people he was helping as it was so well known about the ISIS atrocities. I wanted to see who he was helping and it was one of the best things I have ever done.”
“I’m planning my next trip back so it was an amazing experience.”
In 2019, Bethany visited a camp for mothers and children who had lived under ISIS rule in Raqqa, Syria
She continued, “I just felt like I was right, this is where it happened and I felt very close to my father, which I had not felt since I was told he was killed. It was a great comfort to know that here it is, it’s not a terrible place.
“Lots of people out there are trying to get him back too.”
Bethany added, “I have spoken to several jihadi brides. I think everyone is aware of their perception and I just wanted to hear from them firsthand and if they knew anything about my father, now they had been removed from the situation.
“Each of their experiences and even their personas and personalities were so different from each other.”
Jihadi John was killed in a drone air strike on November 12, 2015. During her visit to Syria, Bethany visited the location where the terrorist was killed.
She said, “There’s a part of me that has the opportunity to have seen him in an interview or to speak to him in person to get a feel for who he was and how he got to that point, really would have liked something like that. ‘
