French IS suspect to face trial for enslaving Yazidi teenager

PARIS,— A woman associated with the Islamic State (IS) is set to face trial in France on charges of genocide for allegedly enslaving a Yazidi teenager in Syria.

Sonia Mejri, 35, originally from southern France, is accused of assisting her then-husband, a senior IS member, in the enslavement and sexual assault of the young girl during the spring of 2015, a time when parts of Syria and Iraq were under IS control.

The charges against Mejri include genocide and crimes against humanity, specifically for allegedly enslaving, imprisoning, torturing, and enabling the rape of the teenager.

The indictment also notes that the couple purportedly attempted to convert the girl to Islam through various acts, including forced rituals following instances of rape.

Mejri’s legal counsel was unavailable for immediate comment. She has consistently denied the accusations. The Yazidi woman involved claims she was held captive for over a month at the age of 16, during which she required Mejri’s permission to eat, drink, or bathe.

The teenager reported instances of violence from Mejri and stated that Mejri was aware of her husband’s assaults.

Mejri’s husband, Abdelnasser Benyoucef, played a role in establishing an IS faction focused on external operations. He has been sentenced in absentia for his involvement in a failed attack in France in 2015, and an arrest warrant remains active for him; however, he is believed to have died in an airstrike in 2016.

The Islamic State took control of significant areas in Syria and Iraq starting in 2014 before being ousted by US-backed forces in 2019.

The Yazidis, a Kurdish-speaking ethnic group from northern Iraq, suffered severe persecution during this period. In August 2014, IS attacked the Yazidi stronghold of Sinjar, resulting in over 1,200 deaths and the abduction of approximately 6,400 Yazidis—many of whom were later rescued or managed to escape.

In response to these atrocities, France initiated an investigation in 2016 into genocide and war crimes against ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq and Syria since 2012. Other European nations are also pursuing legal action against alleged IS members for similar offenses.

Recently, Swedish prosecutors announced genocide charges against a woman accused of keeping Yazidi women and children as slaves in Syria between 2014 and 2016.

Meanwhile, German authorities reported arrests of two suspected IS members accused of enslaving and sexually abusing two young Yazidi girls.

In August 2014, the Sinjar district in northwest Iraq, home to hundreds of thousands of Yazidis, faced a catastrophic attack by ISIS militants. This assault occurred after forces of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by then-President Massoud Barzani, retreated without engaging in battle, leaving Yazidi civilians vulnerable to massacre and genocide.

As the Islamic State advanced, thousands of Yazidi families sought refuge on Mount Sinjar, where they found themselves trapped, enduring severe shortages of water and food. Tragically, many were subjected to killings, abductions, and horrific acts of sexual violence.

The violence led to the systematic murder of men and boys, who were either executed or coerced into servitude, while countless women were raped and sold into sexual slavery across Iraq, Syria, and beyond.

An unpublished report from Iraq’s Kurdistan regional government revealed that approximately 18,000 peshmerga forces were present in the region but chose to withdraw without mounting a defense during the initial ISIS assault on August 3, 2014. Estimates indicate that around 3,000 Yazidis were killed within days, with 6,800 others abducted.

While some Yazidi individuals have been rescued over the years, official statistics show that around 3,000 remain missing.

The failure of KDP forces to protect the Yazidi community has led many to lose faith in the Barzani leadership, with widespread criticism directed at Massoud Barzani for his role in the tragedy.

In November 2015, the United Nations characterized the attack on the Yazidis as a potential genocide. This classification was echoed in subsequent years, with the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Armenia all recognizing the killings as genocide against the Yazidi people.

By 2021, both the Netherlands and Belgium had formally acknowledged the genocide, and in November 2022, the Luxembourg Parliament followed suit, condemning the actions of ISIS against the Yazidis.

On January 19, 2023, Germany also officially recognized the genocide, and on August 1, 2023, the British government confirmed that ISIS committed acts of genocide against the Yazidi community.

The Yazidis, a Kurdish-speaking religious group with roots in Zoroastrianism and Sufism, have been historically marginalized, particularly by extremist groups like ISIS, which deemed them heretics.

Prior to the 2014 attack, approximately 600,000 Yazidis resided in the Iraqi Kurdistan region and surrounding areas, particularly in Nineveh province. As ISIS seized control, around 360,000 Yazidis fled to safer locations.

Today, Yazidi communities exist in Transcaucasia, Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, and Syria. Since the 1990s, many have sought refuge in Europe, notably in Germany.

Currently, there are an estimated 1.5 million Yazidis worldwide, continuing to confront the aftermath of their tragic history while seeking justice and recognition for the atrocities endured.

(With files from AFP | Agencies)