Trigger warning: Article includes details of child abuse
The Munich Higher Regional Court has convicted an Iraqi couple of enslaving two Yazidi girls and for being members of the Islamic State group (IS). The couple enslaved two Yazidi girls between 2015 and 2017. At the same time, IS systematically trafficked thousands of Yazidi women and children into slavery as part of its persecution of the religious minority.
Sold at 5 years old in a Mosul market
Twana H.S. and his wife, Asia R. A., named in line with German privacy rules, became members of the ISIS in Iraq between October 2015 and December 2017. Prosecutors said that Twana purchased the five-year-old Yazidi girl at a slave market in Mosul in 2015 at his wife’s request. The couple purchased the twelve-year-old two years later in 2017.
The couple forced both girls to perform household work, and childcare. They also prevented them from practicing their religion and treated them as property. Prosecutors said the man “repeatedly raped both children,” while his wife “put make-up on one of the girls” and facilitated the abuse.
The BBC reports:
The children were beaten, sometimes with solid objects. On one occasion, Asia R. A. “scalded the younger girl’s hand with hot water,” prosecutors said.
The older survivor testified in court, and described beatings, forced labor, and repeated rapes. The younger girl remains missing.
The court sentenced Twana H.S. to life imprisonment. The charges included genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the severe sexual abuse of children. Asia R.A. received a juvenile sentence of nine and a half years being under the age of 21 when the crimes occurred.
The girls’ enslavement was part of a wider campaign
ISIS systematically targeted the Yazidi community after it seized large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014. IS abducted thousands of women and children and trafficked them into slavery. The group then subjected them to forced labor, sexual exploitation and forced religious conversion.
Germany recognizes these crimes as genocide. The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office said that the couple’s crimes formed part of ISIS’s systematic campaign to destroy the Yazidi religion.
Germany prosecuted the couple under the principles of universal jurisdiction. This allows German courts to try genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed abroad. Twana first came to Germany in the early 2000’s seeking asylum. Though asylum was denied, he was given permission to stay because he had a German child. Twana then returned to Iraqi in 2015 where he and Asia married.
The case follows similar efforts in Australia. Australian prosecutors have brought rare crimes against humanity charges against two women accused of enslaving a Yazidi girl. The case could become Australia’s first prosecution connected to IS’s systematic enslavement of the Yazidi minority.
Together, these prosecutions are bringing renewed scrutiny to ISIS’s system of slavery—one that trafficked thousands of Yazidi women and children. The survivors are still seeking justice more than a decade later.
Freedom United is interested in hearing from our community and welcomes relevant, informed comments, advice, and insights that advance the conversation around our campaigns and advocacy. We value inclusivity and respect within our community. To be approved, your comments should be civil.