A German court has sentenced a man and a woman to lengthy prison sentences for enslaving and abusing two Yazidi girls under the so-called “Islamic State” group in Iraq.
The Iraqi couple were convicted of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. They were also convicted of sexually abusing children and aiding and abetting the listed offenses.
The man was sentenced to life in prison, while his former partner was given a juvenile sentence of nine and a half years.
The couple, identified as Twana H.S. and Asia R.A. in line with German privacy laws, were most recently living in Germany and were arrested in the southern state of Bavaria in April last year.
Couple bought, enslaved and abused girls aged 5 and 12
The court proved that the defendants had enslaved two Yazidi girls while they were members of the so-called “Islamic State” — the same group that was documented by several countries including Germany to have committed genocide against the Yazidi population in Syria and Iraq.
The couple bought the two Yazidi girls as slaves in Iraq when they were aged five and 12.
They then proceeded to exploit the girls, subjecting them to forced labor and torture. The man was found to have sexually abused the children, while the woman reportedly abetted this.
“The monstrous violence is so far removed from any sense of humanity that it seems unreal,” the representative of the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office said.
Plaintiffs said they were treated worse than dogs
One of the formerly enslaved girls was present in the courtroom in Germany. She burst into tears as the verdict was read out on Monday.
Presiding Judge Philipp Stoll read testimony from one of the plaintiffs in which she said that “even dogs were held in higher regard than we were.”
The judge also noted that Monday’s ruling was the first conviction in Germany for forced religious conversion — in this case, forcing the girls from Yazidism to Islam.
The female defendant, now aged 30, had apologized during the trial. Her former husband had declined to speak in court.
Edited by: Zac Crellin
Don’t let the algorithm hide the news. If you rely on our team for trusted reporting, please take a moment to select us as your Preferred Source on Google by clicking here and hitting the “star” or “preferred” button, so you’ll always see our verified news first.
