German Court Sentences Iraqi Couple for Enslaving Yazidi Girls
A court in Germany has handed down a life sentence to an Iraqi man and a nine-and-a-half-year sentence to his wife for enslaving two Yazidi girls in Iraq. The Munich Higher Regional Court found the couple guilty of various charges including membership in the Islamic State group (IS), genocide, war crimes, and severe sexual abuse of children.
The male defendant, identified as Twana H.S. in accordance with German privacy laws, received a life sentence. His wife, Asia R. A., was given a juvenile sentence due to her age at the time of the crimes. The couple was arrested in Bavaria in 2024.
The Yazidi Genocide
The Yazidis, a minority group speaking Kurdish, faced severe persecution at the hands of IS, which captured large areas of Iraq and Syria starting in 2014. Thousands of Yazidi men were killed, while women and children were subjected to enslavement and sexual violence. These acts have been recognized as genocide by Germany, and the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office accused the convicted couple of participating in IS's campaign to eradicate the Yazidi religion.
Twana H.S. initially came to Germany as an asylum seeker in the early 2000s. Despite being denied asylum, he was permitted to stay due to fathering a German child. According to reports from Der Spiegel, he became radicalized at a mosque in Munich and returned to Iraq in 2015.
Crimes Committed by the Couple
Prosecutors indicated that Twana H.S. and Asia R.A. were married under Islamic law and joined IS between October 2015 and December 2017. In late 2015, Twana H.S. reportedly bought a five-year-old Yazidi girl as a slave in Mosul at his wife's behest. The couple acquired a second Yazidi girl, aged twelve, in October 2017. Prosecutors alleged that Twana H.S. repeatedly raped both children, while Asia R.A. assisted by applying makeup to one of the girls and preparing the room for her husband.
The children were forced to perform household chores and childcare, and they were prohibited from practicing their religion. They were also subjected to physical abuse, including beatings and, in one instance, having hot water poured on a child's hand by Asia R.A.
Trial and Testimonies
The trial featured distressing testimonies from the older Yazidi girl, who recounted experiences of beatings, forced labor, and repeated sexual assaults. The younger girl remains missing. The trial was held in Germany under the principle of universal jurisdiction, allowing for prosecution of war crimes committed abroad.
During the proceedings, Asia R.A., who is now separated from Twana H.S., expressed remorse by apologizing in her final statement. Twana H.S. chose not to address the court.
Source: Original Article
