German authorities arrest two Iraqis for ISIS links and Yezidi enslavement

MUNICH — The Office of the German Federal Public Prosecutor (Generalbundesanwaltschaft, GBA) announced the arrest of two Iraqi individuals in Bavaria on charges related to their affiliation with the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization. The charges include accusations of committing genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, particularly involving the enslavement of two Yezidi girls in Iraq and Syria.

ISIS committed mass atrocities against the Yezidi people in Iraq and Syria, most notably the 2014 attack on the Shigur (Shengal / Sinjar), Iraq, aimed at eradicating the homeland of the Yezidi people. The suspects, identified as “Tawana” and “Asia,” allegedly committed these crimes between 2015 and 2017 before surrendering the girls to other ISIS members upon leaving Syria in 2017.

According to the GBA, Tawana, hailing from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), faces charges of sexually assaulting the girls, while his wife, Asia, is accused of facilitating the abuse. The victims, aged 5 and 12 when kidnapped, were subjected to violence, beatings, and forced labor.

The GBA asserts that these actions were part of ISIS’s broader campaign to eradicate the Yezidi ethno-religious group, highlighting the gravity of the charges brought against the accused individuals.