An Iraqi former member of the Islamic State has been sentenced to life in prison by a German court for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity after he and his wife enslaved and abused two young Yazidi girls in Iraq.
The Higher Regional Court in Munich delivered the verdict on Monday, finding that the man, identified as Twana H.S., and his wife bought the girls, aged five and 12, as slaves in 2015 and 2017 while living under Islamic State rule in Iraq.
According to the court, the children were held captive for years, forced to perform hard labour, and subjected to repeated abuse and torture. The court also found that the man sexually abused both girls before they were handed over to other members of the jihadist group.
The man received a life sentence, while his wife, now 30, was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison.
During the trial, which lasted more than a year, prosecutors said the crimes were part of Islamic State’s campaign to destroy the Yazidi religious community.
Before the verdict was delivered, the woman apologised in court, while her husband declined to make a statement.
Beginning in 2014, the terrorist group murdered, abducted, raped, and enslaved thousands of Yazidis in what the German government said was a systematic campaign to eradicate the religious minority.
