Belgium has delivered its first national conviction for the crimes committed by an IS-member against Ezidis during the 2014 genocide.
On 6 November 2025, the Brussels Assize Court found Belgian national Sammy Djedou guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity for his role in the campaign that targeted Ezidis in Iraq and Syria. Although he is believed to have been killed in a 2016 airstrike, the court proceeded with a full trial in absentia after authorities received no official confirmation of his death.
Djedou joined the terrorist group in 2012 and later became involved in external operations planning. According to investigators, his activities from 2014 onward contributed to the group’s attempt to eradicate Ezidis and to the widespread enslavement of Ezidi women and children. Two survivors — enslaved and abused under IS rule — gave testimony during the proceedings, marking the first time in Belgium that Ezidi victims have participated directly in a genocide trial.
With this ruling, Belgium joins Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden as the fourth country to legally recognize the genocide through domestic convictions. The case also builds on Belgium’s earlier parliamentary recognition from 2021, when lawmakers unanimously called for national efforts to identify and prosecute perpetrators involved in crimes against Ezidis.
The proceedings were fully recorded for archival purposes, underscoring their historic character within Belgian jurisprudence. Until now, Belgium’s genocide-related trials had dealt exclusively with cases linked to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
The conviction highlights Europe’s gradually expanding role in prosecuting foreign fighters responsible for atrocities committed in Iraq. It also reflects a slow but steady shift toward survivor-centered justice for Ezidis, more than a decade after the attacks that forced thousands to flee, tore families apart, and left women and children trapped in networks of slavery.
As other jurisdictions continue their own investigations and prosecutions, Belgium’s decision signals a growing recognition that the genocide against Ezidis must be addressed wherever perpetrators can be found.
