Shingal genocide case at International Criminal Court

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The case of the Shingal catastrophe, in which the Islamic State group (ISIS) attacked and ravaged the local Yezidi population in August last year, has been sent to the International Criminal Court (ISS) at the Hague in the Netherlands.

Falah Mustafa, head of the Kurdistan Region’s Foreign Relations Department, is responsible for the case getting to the ICC.

“We have strong evidence in hand which will help recognize the Shingal case as genocide, “ Judge Aiman Mustaffa, head of investigation and witnesses for Shingal case told Rudaw.

The Shingal case - consisting of 40 pages of documents - has officially been filed at the ICC. It is believed the court will soon begin its investigations in the Kurdistan Region. Hundreds of official files have been gathered, and more evidence continues to come in to help with the case.

“The Shingal case, with 59 pages of documents, was filed and sent to the ICC over the past 25 months, and we await the investigations,” Mustafa said.  

According to the law, the ICC deals only with legal complaints. For the Shingal case, the investigation board was legally opened in Kurdistan last year. It has conducted tens of meetings at the ICC on complaints filed at the court.

It has been almost two years since Shingal and its surrounding areas fell to the ISIS. Some 10 places have been identified where massacres took place.

Several people managed to escape the massacres and are ready to go to the ICC as witnesses to tell their stories.

Following the opening of the Shingal case at the ICC, for the first time the Kurdistan region will send its investigation and evidence collection board to the court.