Sema
A German court has convicted an Iraqi couple affiliated with the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes for enslaving and abusing two Ezidi girls from Sinjar.
In a landmark ruling, the Higher Regional Court in Munich sentenced the husband, identified as Tuwana H.S., to life imprisonment. His wife, Asia R.A., was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison, concluding a complex trial that lasted nearly a year and a half.
According to the court, the crimes were committed between 2015 and 2017 while the couple lived in ISIS-controlled areas of Iraq and Syria. During that period, they held two Ezidi girls, aged five and 12 at the time, in captivity after abducting them as part of ISIS’ systematic campaign against the Ezidi community.
Federal prosecutors said the victims were subjected to inhumane conditions, including enslavement, forced labor, and extremist ideological indoctrination. The court also found that the girls were repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped by the husband, while the wife actively facilitated the crimes by preparing the room and one of the victims before the assaults. The couple was also convicted of torturing the girls through severe beatings and burns with boiling water.
In late 2017, the couple fled to Germany seeking asylum. Rather than releasing the two girls, they handed them over to other ISIS members, allowing their enslavement to continue.
The defendants remained undetected in Germany until they were arrested by German authorities in April 2024 in the Bavarian cities of Regensburg and Roth.
During the trial, the defense argued that the wife had been forced into marriage and had no affiliation with ISIS. However, the court upheld the prosecution’s central allegations, finding both defendants criminally responsible.
The verdict marks another significant legal victory for Ezidi survivors and reinforces the principle that genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes remain subject to prosecution regardless of the passage of time.