Dutch Woman Sentenced to 10 Years for Joining ISIS and Committing Crimes Against Ezidis

Published by Ezidi Times on

Hasna A. (33) from Hengelo, Netherlands, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for crimes against humanity and membership in a terrorist organisation. In 2015, she traveled to Syria with her disabled son, joining ISIS and marrying a Moroccan fighter. While living in ISIS-controlled territory, she kept a Ezidi woman as a slave, subjecting her to forced labor for many hours each day, including cooking, cleaning, and caring for her son. This is the highest sentence ever imposed on a returned Dutch female ISIS member.

Hasna A. is the first Syrian returnee to be convicted for crimes against the Ezidi people, who were brutally targeted by ISIS in 2014. Thousands were killed, and many women and children were enslaved. The court found that A. was complicit in the enslavement of Ezidi women, including two victims, Z. and S. Z. Who were tortured, raped, and made to perform household tasks. Two of Z.’s daughters died in ISIS captivity.

Despite her claims of being a victim, the court determined that Hasna A. knowingly supported ISIS and facilitated her husband’s role in its activities. She remained in the ISIS-controlled area even after her marriage ended, putting her son in danger. While the court recognised her diminished mental capacity, it expressed concern over her ongoing extremist views.

The verdict is significant for the Ezidi people, which have been following the case closely, as it marks one of the few instances where a direct link between a returnee and crimes against the Ezidis has been established.

The implications of the case

Although the perpetrator was convicted for crimes against humanity, including slavery and membership in a terrorist organisation, these charges do not fully reflect the extent of her involvement in the systematic genocide committed by ISIS against the Ezidis. As a participant in the deliberate extermination and enslavement of Ezidi women, she should have been prosecuted for genocide, which would better reflect her and ISIS’s intent to annihilate the ethnoreligious Ezidi group.

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