Mohammed Emwazi: Widow of UK aid worker David Haines urges Jihadi John be captured alive so he cannot have an 'honourable death'

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The widow of one of the Western hostages beheaded by Isis militant Jihadi John has called for him to be captured alive, saying he does not deserve an “honourable” death.

British aid worker David Haines was the third hostage to be killed in a brutal video by the hooded fighter Jihadi John, who was yesterday unmasked in reports as Mohammed Emwazi.

His wife Dragana told the BBC seeing the extremist caught by authorities would give the families of his victims a sense of "moral satisfaction".

"That's the only moral satisfaction for the families of all the people that he murdered, because if he gets killed in the action, to put it that way, it will be an honourable death for him and that is the last thing I would actually want for someone like him,” she said.

"I think he needs to be put to justice, but not in that way."

Her call for him to be apprehended alive contrasted heavily with calls from the Mr Haines’ sister, who insisted families would only feel “closure and relief” when “there's a bullet between his eyes”.

The mother of American photojournalist James Foley, the first to be killed by the militant, told The Times that she forgave Emwazi.

"It saddens me, [Emwazi's] continued hatred," she said. "He felt wronged, now we hate him - now that just prolongs the hatred. We need to end it.

"As a mum I forgive him. You know, the whole thing is tragic - an ongoing tragedy."

The family of Steven Sotloff, an American journalist who was threatened in the video depicting Mr Foley’s beheading, said they hope his killer will be caught and sent to prison, and said they felt "relieved" after Emwazi's identity was revealed, according to the BBC.

Emwazi, a University of Westminster graduate from west London, appeared in several hostage videos brandishing a knife and sending warnings to the US, UK and Japanese governments.

The 27-year-old is reported to have started to become radicalised following a trip to Tanzania, where he and two friends were detained by police overnight after landing in Dar es Salaam and eventually deported.