Iraqi couple sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany for ISIS crimes against Yazidi girls

The Higher Regional Court of Munich has sentenced an Iraqi couple, identified as Taha H.S. and Asia R.A., to life imprisonment for crimes committed while they were members of the Islamic State (ISIS). Between 2015 and 2017, in regions of Iraq and Syria controlled by the organization, the couple held two Yazidi girls, aged 5 and 12, as slaves. During this period, the children were subjected to repeated sexual abuse, physical violence, and forced ideological indoctrination. Evidence presented in court indicated that the husband committed sexual assault while the wife facilitated the abuse and subjected the children to physical punishments, including causing burns and forcing them to stand on one leg for extended periods. When the couple fled Syria after 2017, they did not release the victims, instead transferring them to other members of the terrorist organization. The defendants were arrested in Bavaria in April 2024. They were found guilty of charges including genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes for the enslavement of minors.