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German ISIS returnee on trial for crimes against humanity and aiding and abetting genocide over abuse of an enslaved Yazidi woman in Syria

Press statement by victim’s counsel Amal Clooney, Sonka Mehner and Natalie von Wistinghausen, Yazidi NGO Yazda and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Nadia Murad 

Hamburg, 20 May 2022

Yesterday, a criminal trial began before the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg against German ISIS returnee Jalda A. over her alleged abuse of a Yazidi woman who was enslaved at her home in Syria. The 35-year-old German woman has been charged with aiding and abetting genocide as well as with war crimes and crimes against humanity, including torture, enslavement, religious and gender-based persecution and aiding and abetting rape.

According to the Federal Public Prosecutor General, the defendant travelled from Germany to Syria in April 2014, where she married an ISIS fighter. After her first husband died, she married a second and later a third high-ranking ISIS fighter. From September to October 2017, the defendant lived with her third husband in and around the Syrian city of Mayadin.

According to the indictment:

  • The defendant’s husband held a Yazidi woman, M., as a slave and regularly raped her.
  • The defendant facilitated this and she herself physically abused the Yazidi woman. Almost daily, she mistreated M. including by kicking her, slamming her head against the wall and pulling her hair.
  • The defendant also subjected M. to forced labour and forced her to pray according to Islamic rules.
  • Through her actions, she aimed at the destruction of the Yazidi religion.

The defendant was captured by Kurdish forces in late 2017 as she attempted to leave Syria. She was detained at the Roj camp in northern Syria until she was repatriated to Germany in October 2021. Upon her arrival, she was arrested and indicted in April 2022.

M. joined the proceedings against Jalda A. as a co-plaintiff and is represented by British barrister Amal Clooney and German lawyers Sonka Mehner and Natalie von Wistinghausen. She is expected to testify in the coming weeks. She previously testified during the trials in Germany against other ISIS members who abused her including Sarah O., Nurten J. and Omaima A.

Victim’s counsel Amal Clooney commented on the trial: ‘It is an honour to represent my brave client in another case in which she is taking on her abusers and testifying in court about what ISIS did to her and other Yazidi victims. The German courts have confirmed that the crimes committed by ISIS amount to genocide and they are showing the world that ISIS members can, and should, be put on trial for this crime’.

Sonka Mehner commented: ‘This trial is another important step in an ongoing process to ensure that our client receives justice for the egregious crimes committed against her. We will continue to seek to obtain justice for our client and to ensure that the rights to which she is entitled under German law are recognized and protected’.

Natalie von Wistinghausen added: ‘Through her testimony in several trials, our client is one of the key witnesses contributing to finding the truth about the involvement of German nationals in the crimes committed by ISIS against the Yazidi community, including the crime of genocide. Without brave survivors like her and others, accountability could not be achieved’.

Natia Navrouzov, Legal Advocacy Director at the global Yazidi NGO Yazda, which is also represented by Ms. Clooney, added: ‘With this new trial, Germany continues to show its commitment to prosecute crimes committed against Yazidis. We commend the German prosecutors' perseverance and wish more states would follow their example. We are approaching the 8th anniversary of the commemoration of the Yazidi genocide and many survivors still hope to see their day in court, especially in their own country Iraq. Trials cannot only take place thousands of kilometres away, they also need to happen closer to the survivors so that there is a sense of safety and 'home' again’.

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Nadia Murad, who herself is a survivor of enslavement and torture at the hands of ISIS, commented: ‘Each and every case brought against ISIS members for genocide and sexual violence strengthens accountability for mass atrocities. The fact that M. has testified at not one but three trials, shows immense courage as well as the gravity and extent of these crimes. Other courts should follow Germany’s lead to provide justice for survivors and discourage future violence’.

Background

The victim is a member of the Yazidi religious minority and this is the eighth case in Germany involving the prosecution of a member of ISIS for crimes committed against this group.

From August 2014, the Yazidi community in Iraq and Syria was targeted by ISIS through an organised campaign of executions, enslavement, sexual violence, and forced recruitment of child soldiers, as well as the forced displacement of an estimated 400,000 Yazidis from their homeland in Iraq. These crimes have been recognised by the United Nations, national and international bodies and most recently the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt as amounting to genocide.

German courts have convicted ISIS members of (aiding and abetting) crimes against humanity and war crimes for their involvement in ISIS’ crimes committed against the Yazidis in six previous cases in Germany in which Ms. Clooney and Ms. von Wistinghausen represented Yazidi victims (see cases against Taha A.-J., Jennifer W., Sarah O., Nurten J., Omaima A.).

In a separate case in which counsel was not involved, on 18 May 2022, Leonora M, another German ISIS returnee, was convicted by the Higher Regional Court of Naumburg of membership in a terrorist organisation but acquitted of aiding and abetting a crime against humanity for her alleged involvement in the enslavement of a Yazidi woman. The proceedings against Leonora M. were closed to the public as she was a minor when the events took place.

The victim in this case, M., participated in three previous proceedings (against Sarah O., Nurten J., Omaima A.) as a co-plaintiff. Before M. was held by Jalda A., she was held captive and abused by Sarah O. who was involved in the enslavement of six other Yazidi women. During this period, she was also ‘lent’ to Sarah O.’s German friends Nurten J. and Omaima A. She testified during the trial against Nurten J. that she was sold, given away or traded for other ‘slaves’ 14 times during her time in captivity and raped by twelve of her ‘owners’.

The defendant’s husband is the brother-in-law of a German ISIS returnee Sarah O., who was convicted of crimes against humanity in a trial before the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf last year. He is reportedly detained by the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Note to editors:

Under German law, victims of grave crimes have the right to participate in criminal proceedings as ‘co-plaintiffs’ alongside the prosecution and defence. The victim is part of a witness protection program and for her safety, her identity cannot be revealed. She is therefore referred to as ‘M’ in this statement. 

German law normally also does not permit disclosure of defendants’ full surnames.