Facts
Ossama A. allegedly joined ISIS in July 2014 and held a leadership role in the local ISIS religious police (Hisba). He is reported to have played a key role in seizing private homes in the Deir ez-Zor area, exploiting pillaged goods, and using seized buildings for various purposes, including housing fighters, storing supplies, and imprisoning abducted Yazidi women and girls.
Ossama A. is alleged to have been directly involved in the enslavement and sexual exploitation of Yazidi women and girls. He reportedly possessed keys to one of the prisons and supplied inmates with food.
Procedure
On 28 March 2024, an arrest warrant against Ossama A. was issued by the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice.
On 11 April 2024, Ossama A. was arrested by officers from North Rhine-Westphalia State Office of Criminal Investigation in Essen. On the same day, he was brought before the investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice for a remand hearing and was placed in pre-trial detention.
On 20 December 2024, Ossama A. was indicted for war crimes, crimes against humanity, aiding and abetting genocide and membership in a foreign terrorist organization.
On 1 October 2025, the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf convicted Ossama A. of war crimes against property and membership in a foreign terrorist organization. He was sentenced to 5 years’ imprisonment. He was acquitted of the other charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aiding and abetting genocide because these allegations could not be proven.