Dutch Citizens Joining ISIS Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison, Yazidi Women Become Prisoners

UNSPLASH ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - The Dutch court sentenced a woman to 10 years in prison for joining ISIS in Syria. The defendant also made a woman Yazidi a slave.

Prosecutors previously demanded a sentence of 8 years in prison for Dutch woman Hasna Aarab (33), but the District Court in The Hague stated that the severity of slavery as a crime against humanity requires a heavier sentence.

The judge said Aarab actively participated in the slavery of a Yazidi woman between 2015 and 2016, when she lived in Raqqa with her young son and her husband who is a member of ISIS.

The woman Yazidi, identified only as Z., has been forced to work in their homes, where she has also been sexually abused.

Aarab learned of Z's terrible situation and worsened things by ordering him to do household chores and take care of his son, the judge said.

"He did this, knowing that what happened at his home was part of a systemic attack and widespread against the Yazidi community," the court said.

"This type of crime against humanity is one of the worst international crimes," the court continued.

ISIS controlled large parts of Iraq and Syria from 2014-2017, before being defeated in its last stronghold in Syria in 2019.

They view Yazidi, an ancient minority religion, as a Satanite devotee and killed more than 3,000 of them, as well as killed 7,000 women and daughters Yazidi and evicted most of the 550,000 communities from their ancestral homes in northern Iraq.

Aarab was also convicted of joining terrorist organizations, enabling acts of terrorism, and endangering the lives of his small children.

He has been accused of slavery two women, but the court said there was insufficient evidence on the charges of another woman, identified as S.

Aarab told the court at the start of the trial he moved from the Netherlands to an area controlled by ISIS in Syria in 2015 with his son to try to change his life for the better.

But he denied taking an active part in female slavery and told judges that the victims Yazidi lied when they said he gave them orders and forced them to pray.