Yazidi organizations welcome German court sentence of ISIS woman to ten years
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Yazidi organizations on Monday welcomed a German court decision to sentence a woman member of the Islamic State (ISIS) who let a Yazidi girl die while holding her captive to ten years in prison
“Like many other women who joined ISIS, Wenisch, who travelled to Iraq in 2014, was not merely an “ISIS bride,” but played an active role in the enslavement and genocide of the Yezidi people. Along with her husband, Wenisch took a Yezidi woman and her daughter as slaves in Mosul,” Free Yezidi Foundation said in a statement.
"FYF applauds Germany’s efforts in prosecuting ISIS crimes against the Yezidis, including the earlier trial of ISIS member Omaima Abdi,” they added.
Jennifer Wenisch, a German woman who joined the ISIS group, was accused of enslaving a five-year-old Yazidi girl and her mother. According to court documents, Wenisch chained the girl to a window in the summer of 2015. The child died in the heat.
Wenisch’s trial is one of several against ISIS women accused of holding Yezidi slaves in Iraq and Syria. Last year, a German court sentenced Omaima Abdi to three-and-a-half years in prison. She was found guilty of being a member of ISIS and enslaving a child.
“This conviction will mean a lot to ISIS survivors,” Natia Navrouzov, Legal Advocacy Director at global Yazidi NGO Yazda, said. “We commend Germany for its leadership in prosecuting ISIS crimes and ask other States to follow the same example because the story of the survivor in this case is one of many others who have also suffered,” she added.
ISIS swept across Iraq and Syria in the summer of 2014. Minority groups especially suffered under the terror group's rule, including Yazidis, Shabaks, and Christians. A United Nations investigation found there is evidence ISIS committed genocide against the Yazidis.
More than 6,000 Yazidis were kidnapped when ISIS attacked their heartland of Shingal in Nineveh province, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Office for Rescuing Kidnapped Yazidis. Over 2,000 remain missing.
“Like many other women who joined ISIS, Wenisch, who travelled to Iraq in 2014, was not merely an “ISIS bride,” but played an active role in the enslavement and genocide of the Yezidi people. Along with her husband, Wenisch took a Yezidi woman and her daughter as slaves in Mosul,” Free Yezidi Foundation said in a statement.
"FYF applauds Germany’s efforts in prosecuting ISIS crimes against the Yezidis, including the earlier trial of ISIS member Omaima Abdi,” they added.
Jennifer Wenisch, a German woman who joined the ISIS group, was accused of enslaving a five-year-old Yazidi girl and her mother. According to court documents, Wenisch chained the girl to a window in the summer of 2015. The child died in the heat.
Wenisch’s trial is one of several against ISIS women accused of holding Yezidi slaves in Iraq and Syria. Last year, a German court sentenced Omaima Abdi to three-and-a-half years in prison. She was found guilty of being a member of ISIS and enslaving a child.
“This conviction will mean a lot to ISIS survivors,” Natia Navrouzov, Legal Advocacy Director at global Yazidi NGO Yazda, said. “We commend Germany for its leadership in prosecuting ISIS crimes and ask other States to follow the same example because the story of the survivor in this case is one of many others who have also suffered,” she added.
ISIS swept across Iraq and Syria in the summer of 2014. Minority groups especially suffered under the terror group's rule, including Yazidis, Shabaks, and Christians. A United Nations investigation found there is evidence ISIS committed genocide against the Yazidis.
More than 6,000 Yazidis were kidnapped when ISIS attacked their heartland of Shingal in Nineveh province, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Office for Rescuing Kidnapped Yazidis. Over 2,000 remain missing.