A verdict is expected on Monday in a high-profile trial at the Munich Higher Regional Court involving an Iraqi couple accused of enslaving, abusing and forcibly converting two Yezidi girls while linked to the Islamic State (IS) group.
The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office says the defendants face charges including war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, serious sexual abuse of children and aiding and abetting such offences. Prosecutors allege the couple purchased the two girls in Iraq — one in 2015 when she was about five, and the other in 2017 when she was about 12 — then kept them captive for years.
According to the indictment, the girls were subjected to forced labour, systematic physical and sexual abuse, torture and, ultimately, were handed over to other IS members. The trial has lasted more than a year and has included testimony describing severe and repeated violence.
"The monstrous violence is so far removed from any sense of humanity that it seems unreal," a representative of the Federal Public Prosecutor said during the proceedings.
One defendant, a 30-year-old woman, expressed regret in court and said she was "sorry" for the alleged offences. Her husband declined to address the court ahead of the verdict.
Context
In 2023, Germany formally recognized the atrocities committed by Islamic State against Yezidi communities in Iraq and Syria in 2014 as genocide. At that time IS forces killed, trafficked, raped and enslaved thousands of Yezidis — a religious minority indigenous to parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran — in an effort to destroy their community.
The Munich trial is one of several international efforts to hold perpetrators and collaborators accountable for crimes against the Yezidi population. Observers say the verdict will be closely watched as part of broader accountability efforts for IS-era crimes.
Verdict expected: The court is scheduled to hand down its decision on Monday.
