A Swedish court sentenced 52-year-old Lina Ishaq to 12 years in prison for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed against the Yazidi minority in 2015. Ishaq, a Swedish citizen, held nine Yazidi victims, including six children, as slaves, restricting their movement and forcing them to perform labor. The court cited ISIL’s systematic enslavement of Yazidis as a crucial element in its sentencing, although the final sentence was reduced from 16 years to account for a prior conviction. This case marks Sweden’s first prosecution of ISIL-related crimes.
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The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, citing reasonable grounds to believe they bear criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the October 2023 conflict. The ICC found that Deif’s actions constituted crimes against humanity and war crimes, while Netanyahu and Gallant are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity as both co-perpetrators and superior commanders. Israel rejects the allegations, while the ICC’s decision now rests on member states for enforcement. The warrants stem from Hamas’s October attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent military response.
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I cannot begin to express the disgust and disbelief I feel upon hearing about the case of Jennifer Wenisch, a German woman who recently lost her appeal of a 14-year sentence for allowing a 5-year-old Yazidi girl, whom she and her husband enslaved, to die of thirst in Iraq. The sheer inhumanity and cruelty displayed by this couple is beyond comprehension. This poor child, who had already suffered the trauma of having her family murdered and being sold as a slave, was left chained outside to perish simply because she wet the bed. It is a level of depravity that is difficult to fathom.… Continue reading
John Q. Hosedrinker