German Court Jails Iraqi Man for Life Over Enslaving 2 Yazidi Girls

3 articles · Updated · DW (English) · Jul 13

A German court sentenced an Iraqi man to life in prison and his former partner to 9.5 years for enslaving and abusing two Yazidi girls in Iraq under Islamic State.
The court found the couple bought the girls at ages 5 and 12, forced them into labor and torture, and that the man sexually abused them while the woman aided the crimes.
War crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity were among the convictions, and the ruling marked Germany’s first conviction for forced religious conversion after the girls were compelled to convert from Yazidism to Islam.
One survivor attended the verdict and wept in court; Judge Philipp Stoll cited testimony that the girls were treated worse than dogs.
The pair, identified as Twana H.S. and Asia R.A., had been living in Germany before their arrest in Bavaria in April last year, underscoring Germany’s use of domestic courts to prosecute Islamic State atrocities against Yazidis.