Life sentence for Islamic State terrorist left Yazidi girl to die of thirst

A court in Frankfurt (southern Germany) sentenced this Tuesday to life imprisonment to a terrorist from Islamic State (EI) that let a Yazidi girl die of thirst five-year-old whom he had enslaved in northern Iraq.

The defendant, identified as Taha AJ, 29, of Iraqi nationality, was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and human trafficking; in addition, you will have to pay a compensation of 50,000 euros to the girl’s mother.

AJ briefly lost consciousness after the sentence was proclaimed and the process had to be interrupted for a few minutes, German media reported.

“For the first time a court confirms worldwide that IS acts against the Yazidi religious community are genocide,” said Meike Olszak, an expert on international law at Amnesty International, of the decision.

Tied to the sun

The events occurred in the summer of 2015 in the city of Fallujah, then controlled by ISIS; Judge Christoph Koller considered it proven that AJ tied little Rania to the sun to punish her and left her to die of thirst, although the defendant’s attorney had endeavored to present the facts as an accident.

The Court of Frankfurt also considered that with the enslavement of the girl and her mother, both Yazidis, AJ acted in line with the objectives of the IS to exterminate said religious minority.

The wife of the convicted person, Jennifer W., a German national, was already sentenced at the end of October in Munich (south) to 10 years in prison for denying help to the little girl.

The girl’s mother, identified as Nora T., employed as a slave by the marriage, testified as a witness in both processes on a total of 16 occasions.

Universal justice

The Frankfurt Court took over the trial against Taha AJ, which began in 2020, under the principle of universal justice, since neither the perpetrator nor the victim are German citizens.

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According to the United Nations, ISIS enslaved 7,000 women and children belonging to the Kurdish-speaking religious group, many of whom remain missing.

“Today’s sentence must be understood as a sign against terror and its supporters,” declared the vice president of the Kurdish Community of Germany (KGD), Mehmet Tanriverdi, according to a statement released by the organization.