Swedish prosecutors argue that keeping Yazidi women and children as slaves constitutes participation in the Islamic State’s (ISIS) genocidal campaign against the minority group.
On Thursday, Swedish authorities charged a 52-year-old woman with “genocide, crimes against humanity and serious war crimes” for keeping Yazidi women and children as slaves in Syria between 2014 and 2016. The case marks Sweden’s first court proceeding over crimes committed by ISIS against the Yazidi minority.
Senior prosecutor Reena Devgun explained the rationale behind the charges: “If you take in Yazidis into your household when you are an IS member or the wife of an IS member and treat them this way, I argue that you are participating [in the broader campaign against them].”
The accused, a Swedish citizen, is already serving a six-year prison sentence for allowing her 12-year-old son to be recruited as a child soldier for ISIS. During that investigation, authorities received witness reports about her keeping slaves in Raqqa (Reqa), prompting further inquiry.
Prosecutors allege that the woman kept nine people – three women and six children – in her home “as slaves” for periods ranging from 20 days to seven months. The victims were reportedly forced to perform household tasks and were photographed, allegedly with the intention of being sold.
The trial is scheduled to begin on 7 October and is expected to last two months. If convicted, the woman could face a life sentence in Sweden. The accused denies all charges.
This case is part of a broader effort to address crimes committed by ISIS against the Yazidi minority. In 2014, ISIS militants attacked Yazidi communities in Iraq’s Sinjar (Şengal) region, abducting women and children, forcing women into sexual slavery, and indoctrinating boys with jihadist ideology.
