Ezidi Times — July 2025
This article offers a roundup of important news and events concerning the Ezidi people in July 2025. It includes key developments from Iraq and the wider diaspora, highlighting upcoming commemorations, legal actions, cultural initiatives, and reports on the ongoing challenges faced by the Ezidi people.
July 24: Washington DC Event — “Eleven Years On: The Ezidi Genocide and the Road to Recovery”
On July 24, the Atlantic Council’s Iraq Initiative and Free Ezidi Foundation will host a discussion in Washington DC to mark eleven years since the Ezidi genocide. Civil society leaders and US officials will address what remains to be done to achieve justice, support survivors of ISIS atrocities, and help the Ezidi people heal from trauma and displacement. The event will stream live on YouTube.
Ezidi Language Services Launches in Australia
Founded by experienced Ezidi interpreters, Ezidi Language Services in Toowoomba, Australia, now offers culturally-sensitive interpreting and translation in the Ezidi Kurmanji dialect, Arabic, and English. Their mission is to empower clients, build understanding, and uphold cultural respect across healthcare, legal, and community services.
London: New Exhibition Highlights Ezidi Survivors
The Imperial War Museum in London opened Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict, the UK’s first major exhibition on wartime sexual violence, running through November 2. It includes testimony and artefacts from Ezidi women enslaved by ISIS, alongside other global cases, raising awareness of survivors’ struggle for justice. The Free Ezidi Foundation contributed to the exhibition.
Iraq: Sinjar Victims Identified — Reburial Ceremony on August 13
Iraq’s forensic department identified 22 more Ezidi victims of the 2014 Sinjar massacre through DNA analysis of mass grave remains. The victims include 4 women and 18 men. Their remains will be returned to families in Mosul on August 12, with an official reburial ceremony in Sinjar the next day. Families and organizations continue to demand full accountability for the genocide and answers about the missing.
Germany Extradites ISIS Suspect in Speicher Massacre to Iraq
German authorities extradited Ali Mohammed al-Kilani, an ISIS member accused of helping execute hundreds of cadets in the 2014 Speicher massacre near Tikrit. Al-Kilani, who had escaped prison in Iraq, was tracked and arrested in Germany with the help of Iraqi intelligence. The massacre remains one of ISIS’s deadliest atrocities in Iraq.
Hidden Crises: Refugees and Ezidi Displacement Persist
An opinion report from SSI and APNOR calls out international inaction toward ongoing Middle East crises. Afghan refugees in Iran face detention and abuse, while more than 200,000 Ezidis remain displaced in Iraq. The authors stress that locally-led, culturally-informed responses are essential, and call for Australia and others to increase humanitarian support.
Shengal Conference: Ending Denial and Genocide Against Ezidis
At the Shengal Enlightenment Conference this month, speakers emphasized the need to end policies of denial and annihilation targeting the Ezidi people and their Sharfadin faith. Sessions explored how genocide, looting, and state oppression have shaped the Ezidi struggle and highlighted national and ecological resilience.
0 Comments