A German court on Monday delivered a significant ruling against an Iraqi couple linked to the Islamic State militant group, sentencing them to lengthy prison terms for the systematic enslavement and abuse of two Yazidi girls. The defendants, identified under German privacy laws as Twana H.S. and Asia R.A., were convicted of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. The court also found them guilty of child sexual abuse and aiding and abetting these offenses.
The male defendant received a life sentence, while his former partner, now 30, was handed a juvenile sentence of nine and a half years. The couple had been living in Germany until their arrest in the southern state of Bavaria in April of last year. Evidence presented to the court confirmed that the pair purchased the two victims as slaves in Iraq when the girls were just five and 12 years old. Following their acquisition, the children were subjected to years of forced labor, torture, and sexual abuse. The court determined that the man personally committed sexual abuse against the children, with the woman acting as an accomplice.
During the proceedings, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office described the acts as "monstrous violence" that was "so far removed from any sense of humanity that it seems unreal." Presiding Judge Philipp Stoll highlighted that this ruling marks the first conviction in Germany for forced religious conversion, specifically regarding the pair forcing the girls to abandon Yazidism for Islam. One of the survivors, who was present in the courtroom, wept as the verdict was delivered. Judge Stoll also read testimony from one of the plaintiffs, who poignantly stated that "even dogs were held in higher regard than we were." While the female defendant offered an apology during the trial, her former husband chose to remain silent throughout the proceedings.
