Prosecution of ISIL Crimes Against Yazidis: Is Europe Dragging its Feet?

Last November, twelve Dutch women and their children were repatriated to the Netherlands from the camps in northeast Syria. The women were taken into custody on terrorism charges, including enslaving a Yazidi woman.

Hasna Aarab, one of those repatriated, is accused of travelling to Syria with her four-year-old son in 2015 to marry a Moroccan ISIL fighter and enslaving a Yazidi woman. Since then, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service has been investigating the matter, which is still in the pre-trial phase.

For centuries, the Yazidis have been persecuted for their religious beliefs by the Ottomans, Arabs and most recently, ISIL. In 2014, thousands were killed and enslaved, when ISIL took control of major Iraqi cities, forcing many from the community to live in camps in Syria and Iraq, or flee to other parts of the world.

Karim Asad Ahmad Khan, special adviser and head of the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD) confirmed in May 2021 that there was “clear and convincing evidence” that genocide had been committed by ISIL against the Yazidi.

The Netherlands and Belgium have since joined an international investigation into atrocities committed against Yazidis in Syria and Iraq, according to the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust).

European legal systems have struggled to manage the judicial aspects of the ISIL files, and many have been “dragging their feet” in prosecuting ISIL crimes committed by European citizens. Nadia Murad, a Yazidi woman, Nobel Peace prize winner, and president of Nadia’s Initiative says that “whilst [she is] pleased to see countries like the Netherlands and Germany take responsibility for their ISIS fighters, this should have happened a lot earlier”.

Wahhab Hassoo, co-director of NL Helpt Yezidis, a Dutch organisation fighting for the rights of the community, is trying to raise awareness about the Yazidi genocide by giving lectures and lessons to primary schools, universities, companies, and government institutions.

The next pre-trial hearing on Aarab’s case will take place on September 22 and the prosecution has said there are enough serious indications on the slavery charges to keep the suspect in custody.

Murad has called on more countries to follow Germany and the Netherlands and start taking responsibility for those of their citizens who carried out genocide and sexual violence and provide more support for survivors.