Armenia has made progress in supporting minority languages, including Ezidi, but challenges remain in education and protection. Expanded school programs and radio initiatives help, yet teacher shortages and limited offerings threaten language survival. Upcoming legislation offers a key opportunity to safeguard the Ezidi language and culture.
Trial Against Couple Accused of Enslaving and Abusing Ezidi Children Under IS to Begin Tomorrow in Munich (München), Germany, for keeping two Ezidi girls aged five and twelve under the rule of the so-called Islamic State (IS). The crimes took place between 2015 and 2017 in Iraq and Syria. The charges include genocide, reflecting IS’s targeted campaign against the ancient Ezidi people, who follow the Sharfadin religion.
Murad Ismael, a prominent Ezidi activist and co-founder of the Sinjar Academy, is facing an arrest warrant issued by a court in the northern Iraqi province of Nineveh. The warrant follows his outspoken criticism of Iraq’s Minister of Migration, Evan Faeq Jabro, and the Ministry’s handling of the ongoing crisis faced by Ezidi internally displaced persons (IDPs).
A proposal has been introduced in the Italian Parliament calling for the recognition of the genocide committed against the Ezidi people by ISIS in 2014. The move comes after years of international debate and growing calls for justice for the Ezidis, who endured unspeakable atrocities at the hands of ISIS during their brutal assault on Shengal (Sinjar), Iraq.
Some so-called academics spread false information about Ezidis, repeating extremist ideas. Ezidi Times encourages readers to stay alert and help stop the spread of these harmful myths.
The prosecutor has appealed the Stockholm District Court’s verdict against Lina Ishaq, who was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity, and serious war crimes committed against the Ezidi people. The appeal, filed on February 17, 2025, requests that the initial 12-year prison sentence be replaced with a life sentence due Read more
A 39-year-old Syrian man is accused of having fought for the so-called Islamic State (IS) in his home country before fleeing to Europe. He is also suspected of having held Ezidi prisoners in his business. The defendant pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer, Michael Drexler, argued that the wrong person had been charged. The man arrived in Austria in 2019 and was granted asylum in 2020. According to his lawyer, authorities had thoroughly examined his background and found no evidence linking him to IS.
The Stockholm District Court has sentenced Lina Ishaq to 12 years in prison for genocide, crimes against humanity, and severe war crimes committed against Ezidi women and children in Raqqa, Syria, during 2014 and 2015. The case is part of broader international efforts to hold members of the Islamic State (IS) accountable for their systematic persecution of the Ezidi minority.
Iraq’s ongoing crackdown on alcohol sales, which began in 2023 after years of sporadic enforcement, has led to the closure of numerous private clubs and venues, particularly those owned by Iraq’s Ezidis and Christians. However, critics contend that the ban has only fueled black markets and increased violence, without addressing the root causes of crime.
Hasna A., a Dutch woman, was sentenced to 10 years for ISIS membership and enslaving an Ezidi woman in Syria. This marks the highest sentence for a returned female ISIS member in the Netherlands.
The Shingal Autonomous Administration in Iraq has announced the launch of a signature campaign to recognize the atrocities committed against the Ezidi people, particularly the events of August 3, 2014, as genocide. The campaign was unveiled on the 9th anniversary of the liberation of Shingal and aims to bring international Read more
After public backlash regarding the decision to assign the guardianship of the Ezidi girl under state protection to an ISIS-family, has been reversed. The guardianship has now been revoked from the ISIS-family, and a lawyer will be appointed by the bar to assume guardianship duties.
The Ezidi child was initially rescued from ISIS in 2021 after being trafficked through the dark net for sale. Sabah Ali Oruç, who was arrested in connection with the abduction, admitted to bringing the child to Turkey in 2018 using a fake passport. He had previously purchased the child from ISIS in Iraq, where the child was sold for $500.
The proposed legal change would legitimize child marriage, putting young girls at greater risk of abuse, forced marriage, and poor health outcomes. Although the acts committed by the ISIS-members since 2014 should not be classified as “forced marriage” or even include the word “marriage”, the Iraqi government will in fact classify the genocide acts committed towards the women as “marriage”.
Iraq’s international commitments, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and …
This year was the tenth anniversary of the Ezidi genocide. Legal experts and survivors alike are grappling with a critical issue: the lack of corporate accountability under U.S. law. In his July 2024 article, Charles Johnson explores the legal shortcomings that have hindered the pursuit of justice for Ezidi victims Read more
Official Human Rights Complaint and Call for International Investigation into Technology and Social Media Companies’ Role in ISIS Crimes Against the Ezidis In 2023 a powerful and urgent human rights complaint was made for an international investigation into global technology and social media companies that are alleged to have aided 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.
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
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