The UNITAD report suggests that many Ezidi boys and men have been sexually abused by IS terrorist. Oftentimes, these male victims are not able to fully disclose what they have been through and therefore, they have even worse access (than female victims) to the much needed medical and psychological support.
FIDH has reported that on October 9, 2024, Sabri Essid, also known as Abou Dojanah al-Faransi, was indicted by the Paris Criminal Court for genocide and crimes against humanity against the Ezidi population in Syria, committed by ISIS members, including French nationals. Bahzad Fahran of the NGO Kinyat emphasized that Read more…
The risk of not acknowledging this fact is that some may try to exploit the suffering that Ezidis have endured. Certain actors in the Middle East, particularly those who refuse to accept the unique Ezidi ethnic and religious identity.
The Swedish national, named Lina Ishaq, is accused of having nine Ezidi children and women in her home in Raqqa, Syria between 2014 and 2016.
25.09.2024 A 35-year-old French woman, Sonia Mejri, is facing trial for genocide, crimes against humanity, including enslavement, torture, and rape, stemming from her time living with her former husband, Abdelnasser Benyoucef, a key ISIS figure, in Syria in 2015. Mejri and Benyoucef are accused of committing atrocities against a Ezidi Read more…
This case is of historic importance since it is first time an individual is being prosecuted for the crime of genocide against the Ezidi people in Sweden. The victims currently live outside Sweden.
When asked about how he first started to paint and his path to discovering his artistic talent, Hisham explains that he has always been into art. Surprisingly, Hisham recalls how someone else took credit for his artwork which made him stop to draw for a while. The incident happened at the Talent Center in Khansour Complex at which Hisham had completed a course and was asked to draw paintings for the closing ceremony. However, on the day of the ceremony, Hisham’s name had been removed from his artwork and instead been replaced by the name of a girl. This incident made the artist disappointed and caused him to stop drawing for a while.
The Yezidis, also known as Ezidis, are an ethnoreligious people predominantly residing in the Middle East, including Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Armenia. The Yezidis are a distinct and separate group with their own unique identity. In this article we explain the multifaceted reasons why the Yezidis should not be mixed with the different people who see themselves as “Kurdish”.
When IS attacked the Ezidis and when many were forced to seek refugee in the Sinjar mountains, some effort were made to support and assist them. According to Farhad, the distribution of assistance was perhaps not optimal but it was at least something, considering that they had just survived a genocidal attack(s). However, due to the war between Ukraine-Russia and the situation in Palestine-Israel, the Ezidi genocide and all issues related to the Ezidis have been forgotten. Farhad explains that “Our people continue to suffer, and the effects of the genocide are still ongoing”, yet the suffering of the Ezidis has been overshadowed by other global issues that are of bigger political interest for the global powers.
Ezidi district of Al-Qahtaniyah, west of Nineveh governorate, Ezidi people who are currently living in IDP camps still remember August 14, 2007, as the day when their region experienced the deadliest series of bombings in Iraq since the 2003 U.S. invasion.
As an ancient ethno-religious minority, the Ezidis have faced persecution for centuries due to their faith. The self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria viewed Ezidis as heretical devil worshippers.
The Yezidis are an ethno-religious minority with the majority speaking Kurmanji, one of the main Kurdish dialects, according to researchers. Geographically, they are classified as a dispersed minority in demographic centres where population density is homogenous and concentrated. They are mainly located in contested areas across several residential clusters, notably in the Sinjar region (locally known as Shingal) and the Nineveh Plain, which falls administratively under the central government. This region includes the Shekhan district, along with numerous Yezidi villages and towns in the Tel Keppe district, as well as the cities of Ba’shiqa and Bahzani in Nineveh province. There are also smaller population clusters in the southern and western parts of Duhok province, which have been part of the Kurdistan region since 1991, including towns and cities such as Sharya, Khanke, Ba’adre, and Derabun.
The third Iraqi women’s conference, held on 25 July in Baghdad and organized by the Iraqi Women’s Association and the Yazidi Women’s Freedom Movement (TAJÊ), focused on uniting against femicide and commemorating the victims of the 2014 Yazidi genocide. The conference included speeches highlighting the impact on women and children, the unknown fate of many captured by ISIS, and the need for women to organize against patriarchal violence.
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Yazidi genocide. It has been ten years since over 10,000 Yazidis were brutally murdered. Ten years since more than 7,000 women and children were subjected to abduction, violence, and enslavement. Ten years since thousands have disappeared and over 2,600 are still missing without a trace. This article is republished on Ezidi Times with the kind permission of Jurist.org.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosted Ezidi activists at the State Department on July 23 ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Ezidi genocide by ISIS.
In this article we give you a recap of the main events related to the Ezidis. Ezidi Athlete Yurik Mamedov Carried the Olympic Torch During the torch ceremony held in Paris for the 2024 Paris Olympics game, Yurik Mamedov was one of the torch carriers. Mamedov was supported by his Read more…
The relationship between Kurdish political parties and the Ezidi population in Iraq has become increasingly complicated, shaped by historical, political, and social tensions. The Kurdish political parties maintain a monolithic stance, rooted in the ethnic and political landscape of the region. This article analyzes the current situation of the Ezidi people in Read more…
Kosovo’s Special Prosecution has indicted a Kosovo citizen, identified as M.D., for crimes against Yazidi girls and women during their involvement in Syria and Iraq from 2014 to 2017. M.D. is allegedly an Albanian from Metohija, Kosovo. The charges include crimes against humanity and serious violations of armed conflict laws. Read more…
A new draft law proposed by Ezidi representatives in the Iraqi parliament aims to recognize Ezidis as a distinct nationality, alongside Arabs, Kurds, and Turkmen. The bill, introduced last week, seeks justice for the Ezidi people, which suffered severe atrocities under ISIS. The proposal has garnered significant support, with 182 Read more…
On July 10, 2024, an Iraqi court sentenced Asma Mohamed, one of the wives of the Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, to death. The court found her guilty of crimes related to the detention and enslavement of Ezidi women, which occurred during the Islamic State’s (ISIS) campaign against the Read more…