German Court Sentences Iraqi Couple for Enslaving Yazidi Girls
A court in Germany has delivered a verdict against an Iraqi couple accused of enslaving two Yazidi girls in Iraq. The Munich Higher Regional Court found the couple guilty of being members of the Islamic State group (IS) and committing crimes related to genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
The male defendant, identified as Twana H.S. under German privacy regulations, received a life sentence. His charges included severe sexual abuse of children among other serious offenses. His wife, Asia R. A., received a juvenile sentence of nine and a half years, reflecting her age at the time of the crimes.
The couple was apprehended in Bavaria in 2024. The Yazidis, a Kurdish-speaking minority, faced severe persecution by IS starting in 2014 when the militant group captured significant territories in Syria and Iraq. Thousands of Yazidi men were killed, and women and children were subjected to enslavement and sexual violence. Germany officially recognizes these acts as genocide.
Background and Legal Proceedings
The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office accused the couple of participating in IS's systematic campaign to annihilate the Yazidi religion. Twana H.S. first arrived in Germany in the early 2000s seeking asylum. Despite being denied asylum, he was allowed to stay as a parent of a German child and worked as a hairdresser in Munich. Reports from Der Spiegel indicate that he was radicalized in a Munich mosque and returned to Iraq in 2015.
The prosecution stated that Twana H.S. and Asia R. A. were married under Islamic law in Iraq and joined IS between October 2015 and December 2017. At the time of the crimes, Asia R. A. was under 21. It was alleged that in late 2015, Twana H. S. purchased a five-year-old Yazidi girl as a slave in Mosul, prompted by his wife. The couple later acquired a twelve-year-old Yazidi girl in October 2017. The prosecution accused Twana H.S. of repeatedly raping both children, with Asia R. A. complicit in preparing the environment for the abuse.
Testimonies and Universal Jurisdiction
The court heard distressing testimonies during the trial, including from the eldest Yazidi girl, who recounted experiences of beatings, forced labor, and repeated sexual assaults. The younger girl remains unaccounted for. The couple's trial in Germany was facilitated by the principle of universal jurisdiction, which permits legal action for alleged war crimes, including genocide, committed abroad.
During the trial proceedings, Asia R. A., now separated from Twana H.S., expressed remorse and apologized in her final statement, saying, "I'm sorry." Twana H.S. chose not to speak in court.
Source: Original Article
