Trial starts against Dutch woman accused of enslaving Yazidi women in ISIS caliphate

This week, Hasna A. from Hengelo will stand trial for allegedly enslaving two Yazidi women in the ISIS caliphate in Syria. “It is the first case in the Netherlands in which someone is prosecuted for crimes against the Yazidi community that were committed by ISIS,” lawyer Brechtje Vossenberg, who is representing the victims in this case, told EenVandaag. For security reasons, her clients’ names will not be released.

Hasna A. left for Syria with her disabled son in 2015. She was eventually repatriated by the Dutch government from a prison camp in November 2022 as part of a group of 12 women and their 28 children.

Two Yazidi women who were held in the caliphate have testified that A. enslaved them, forcing them to work in her home and care for her disabled child. “It is charged as a crime against humanity,” Vossenberg told the program. Slavery is punishable in the Netherlands, the lawyer explained. “But the hallmark of a crime against humanity is that the crime is committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population. In this case, that is specifically the ISIS attack against the Yazidi community in northern Iraq in early August.”

During the ISIS genocide on the Yazidi people, thousands of people, mainly men and boys, were slaughtered. “Thousands more, mainly girls, unmarried women, women with children, girls from the age of 9, were captured en masse, enslaved, and transported by ISIS to other parts of Iraq and to Syria,” Vossenberg said. “The entire ISIS policy was aimed at dehumanizing these people. They did whatever they wanted with them: girls and women were enslaved, used as sex slaves or slaves in the household. They have been through an awful lot.”

A. is also being prosecuted for involvement in terrorist crimes and putting a minor in a dangerous position.

Dalal Ghamin (28) grew up in the Yazidi community in the north of Iraq but had to flee from the ISIS violence. She will be following the trial closely. “It is very important to us,” she told EenVandaag. “On the one hand, it is great that someone is finally going to appear before the judge. On the other hand, we think it will only be a few years in prison at most and we do not think that is justified.”

“Everyone has seen how bad it was for us. Thousands of people have been murdered. Over 6,000 women and children were taken and used as slaves. More than half a million people went on the run,” Ghamin said. “There is no right punishment for what they have done.”