Dutch woman sentenced to 10 years for enslaving Yazidi in Syria

Dutch woman sentenced to 10 years for enslaving Yazidi woman in Syria — Dutch Islamic State ISIS woman Hasna Aarab sentenced to 10 years for enslaving Yazidi woman in Syria. Image from 2015. Photo: Emiel Muijderman

THE HAGUE, Netherlands,— A Dutch court sentenced a 33-year-old Muslim woman, Hasna Aarab, to 10 years in prison on Wednesday for her involvement with the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and for keeping a Yazidi woman as a slave.

The decision, issued by The Hague District Court, emphasized the severity of crimes against humanity, surpassing the prosecution’s original eight-year sentencing request.

According to the court, Aarab actively participated in enslaving a Yazidi woman identified only as “Z.” between 2015 and 2016 while living in Raqqa with her son and her husband, an IS fighter.

Judges noted that Z. was forced to perform household chores and care for Aarab’s child under oppressive conditions, and she also suffered sexual abuse. Aarab was fully aware of Z.’s suffering and worsened the situation by assigning her domestic tasks, the court stated.

“She acted knowing that these actions were part of a systematic and widespread attack on the Yazidi community,” the court explained, calling crimes against humanity “among the gravest international offenses.”

From 2014 to 2017, IS controlled significant portions of Iraq and Syria, implementing widespread violence and terror. During this period, the group targeted Yazidis—an ancient religious minority—branding them as devil worshippers. IS atrocities included the killing of over 3,000 Yazidis, the enslavement of 7,000 women and girls, and the displacement of most of the 550,000-strong Yazidi population from northern Iraq.

In Aarab’s case, she was also convicted of joining a terrorist organization, facilitating acts of terrorism, and endangering her young son’s life. While accusations of enslaving another woman, identified as “S.,” were brought against Aarab, the court found insufficient evidence to support these claims.

During her trial, Aarab argued that she had moved to IS-controlled Syria in 2015 in search of a better life.

However, she denied any involvement in enslaving Yazidi women, claiming the victims were lying about being forced to follow her orders or pray. Following the fall of IS in 2019, Aarab was held in Kurdish detention camps in Syrian Kurdistan before being repatriated to the Netherlands in 2022.

In August 2014, IS militants carried out a devastating assault on the Sinjar district in northwestern Iraq, a region inhabited by hundreds of thousands of Yazidis.

Tribal leader and the head of Kurdistan Democratic Party KDP party Massoud Barzani, Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, 2023. Photo: Rudaw TV

The withdrawal of the KDP Peshmerga forces, under the leadership of then-Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani, left the Yazidi population defenseless against the attack. Thousands of Yazidis fled to Mount Sinjar, where they endured starvation, dehydration, and continued assaults by IS fighters.

Those unable to escape faced atrocities, including mass executions of men. Women and girls were subjected to horrific abuses, including systematic rape, sexual slavery, and abductions.

Reports estimate that approximately 3,000 Yazidis were killed during the initial days of the IS attack, while 6,800 others were abducted. Over the following years, many of the survivors were rescued, though 3,000 Yazidis remain missing, according to official statistics.

Critics and observers, including members of the Yazidi community, have laid blame on Barzani and the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) for failing to protect the Yazidis. Many Yazidis have since lost faith in the Kurdish leadership, citing the Peshmerga’s retreat as a pivotal factor in the tragedy that unfolded in Sinjar.

Yazidis, a Kurdish-speaking religious group with roots in ancient Mesopotamia, have faced persecution throughout history. Their faith, influenced by Zoroastrianism and Sufism, has long been misunderstood and vilified by extremist groups like IS.

Prior to 2014, the Yazidi population in Iraq numbered approximately 600,000, concentrated in villages around Mosul and Nineveh province. After IS’s invasion, around 360,000 Yazidis sought refuge in safer areas, according to the Yazidi Rescue Office.

Today, Yazidi communities exist in regions such as Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, and Syria, with a significant diaspora in Europe, particularly Germany. Worldwide, the Yazidi population is estimated to be around 1.5 million.

This ruling against Aarab is seen as part of the broader effort to bring justice to victims of IS’s atrocities and to hold perpetrators accountable for their actions. By issuing a harsher sentence, the Dutch court underscored the grave nature of Aarab’s crimes, particularly in the context of the systematic abuse and exploitation of Yazidi women during IS’s reign of terror.

(With files from Reuters | Agencies)