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Munich Court Convicts Iraqi Couple of Enslaving Yazidi Girls

The verdict applies genocide, war‑crime and crimes‑against‑humanity charges domestically and highlights Germany’s role in holding IS-era perpetrators to account.

Overview

  • On Monday the Oberlandesgericht München found the couple guilty of buying, enslaving and abusing two Yazidi girls in IS-held territory between 2015 and 2017.
  • The court concluded the acts included repeated sexual violence and physical torture, citing evidence such as burns with hot water, beatings and forced household servitude.
  • The male defendant was sentenced to life in prison and the woman received a nine‑and‑a‑half‑year juvenile sentence for crimes that include genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
  • One victim testified that her family freed her in 2018, while the other girl remains missing and has not been located.
  • Judges and prosecutors framed the case as enforcing international‑law findings about IS crimes and said the ruling may strengthen domestic avenues for documenting atrocities and pursuing other IS-era suspects.