05/19/2025May 19, 2025
Iraqi couple to face trial in Germany over alleged IS crimes against Yazidi girls
An Iraqi man and his wife, , are set to appear in court in Germany.
The 43-year-old man and 29-year-old woman face charges at the Munich Higher Regional Court, including genocide, human trafficking, and crimes against humanity.
Prosecutors say that in 2015, the man bought a 5-year-old Yazidi girl as a dowry for his wife, at her request. The child was allegedly held captive by the couple in Iraq and Syria for over two years, during which she was subjected to forced labour, sexual abuse, humiliation, and torture.
In October 2017, the couple allegedly bought a second Yazidi girl, aged 12, who endured similar abuse.
Both girls were later transferred to other in November 2017. While the older girl was eventually freed after a ransom was paid, the fate of the younger child remains unknown.
The couple were arrested in Bavaria in April 2024 and have been in custody since.
IS aimed to establish a theocratic state under Sharia law during the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.
German prosecutors argue the couple’s actions were part of IS’s systematic rape of Yazidi women and girls — a strategy designed to dismantle the group’s continuity and identity.
Germany has emerged as a key prosecutor of IS war crimes that took place in Iraq and Syria under the principle of .
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