A court in the Netherlands on Tuesday sentenced Hasna Aarab, a female ISIS member, to ten years in prison for enslaving a Yezidi woman.
“Prosecutors asked for eight years, but the judges decided on a ten-year sentence due to the gravity of the crimes committed,” the Yezidi non-profit Free Yezidi Foundation, which provided a statement at the opening of the case, posted on X.
“While many male members of ISIS died in battle in Iraq and Syria, many female ISIS members did not,” the Free Yezidi Foundation said. “Yezidi survivors will tell you that the female members of ISIS were more brutal than the men. All collaborators in the Yezidi Genocide must be held accountable.”
Great result today in court in #Netherlands : female #ISIS #Daesh member jailed for ten years for keeping a #Yezidi #Yazidi woman enslaved during #YazidiGenocide .
— Free Yezidi Foundation (@Free_Yezidi) December 11, 2024
Brief thread.https://t.co/BeLmXiW4VT
The Free Yezidi Foundation said that the conviction of Hasna Aarab for slavery falls under the legal rubric of crimes against humanity. “This is a legal win for Yezidis, as we now have convictions in Germany and the Netherlands and likely soon in Sweden as well, with investigations picking up pace.”
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“Two developments in this trial are important. First, the prosecutors asked for an eight-year sentence because the ISIS member enslaved a Yezidi, but the judges decided on ten years. That is a strong signal in Europe,” Pari Ibrahim, the founder and Executive Director of the Free Yezidi Foundation, told Kurdistan Chronicle.
“Second, this is the first case in Europe outside of Germany, but it will not be the last. A verdict on a genocide trial will come soon in Sweden, and we are aware of other cases being advanced elsewhere. It has taken a long time, but we are hopeful that the wheels of justice, at least in Europe, are finally turning.”
In July 2021, the Dutch Parliament recognized the ISIS massacre of Yezidis in August 2014 as genocide.
Dutch ISIS members were also allegedly involved in the Yezidi Genocide; other Dutch women who were members of ISIS have been put on trial on charges of enslaving Yezidi women.
The new Dutch government also wants to establish an international tribunal for prosecuting crimes, including genocide, committed by ISIS.
