Facts
Taha A. J. joined the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq in March 2013. In August 2014, Jennifer W. left Germany for Iraq and joined ISIS there.
Taha A. J. and Jennifer W. shared a household in Fallujah. In summer 2015, Taha A. J. “purchased” a Yazidi woman and her five-year-old daughter. They were both from a group of Yazidis taken captive during an attack in the region of Sindjar, directed towards the oppression and extinction of the Yazidi religion. Taha A. J. brought the woman and her daughter to his house in Fallujah. Taha A. J. and Jennifer W. kept the Yazidi woman and her daughter as slaves and exposed them to inhumane living conditions. Taha A. J. prohibited them from exercising their religion, forced them to convert to Islam and severely and repeatedly beat them. To punish the five-year old for wetting the bed and as a measure to “discipline” the girl, Taha A. J. chained her outdoors in scorching heat, which subsequently led to the child’s death.
Procedure
In 2019, the investigation regarding the crimes committed by ISIS against the Yazidi community in Syria and Iraq led to arrests, formal indictments and trials against several former members of ISIS based on accusations of crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide and other crimes.
On 18 April 2019, the Federal Court of Justice issued an arrest warrant against Taha A. J. He was arrested in May 2019 in Greece and was extradited to Germany on 9 October 2019. He was accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes against persons, human trafficking for labor exploitation and the murder of the five-year-old Yazidi girl.
The mother of the Yazidi child that died participated in the proceedings against Taha A. J. as a co-plaintiff after the NGO Yazda identified her, located her in Iraq and facilitated her participation in the proceedings.
On 30 November 2021, the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main found Taha A. J. guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, aiding and abetting a war crime and bodily harm resulting in death. According to the conviction decision, through the physical and psychological damage caused to his Yazidi slaves, Taha A. J. wanted to make a purposeful contribution to ISIS’s declared goal of destroying the Yazidi faith and its members – who he deemed “worthless” – in order to establish an Islamic caliphate. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. In addition, he must pay the joint plaintiff and mother of the deceased child EUR 50’000 as compensation for the non-material damage she suffered. Taha A. J. appealed his conviction.
On 30 November 2022, the Federal Court of Justice rejected the appeal filed by Taha A. J. and confirmed his conviction and life sentence.