A Dutch woman from Hengelo has been sentenced to ten years in prison for enslaving a Yazidi woman in Syria. This is the first time a Dutch woman has been convicted of crimes against the Yazidis, an ethnic and religious group from northern Iraq who were systematically targeted by ISIS in 2014.
Details of the Case
The 33-year-old Hasna A., a woman who traveled to Syria to join ISIS, was found guilty of multiple offenses, including membership in a terrorist organization, endangering her minor child, and enslaving a Yazidi woman. In 2015, she traveled to Syria with her then four-year-old disabled son, where she married an ISIS jihadist and had additional children.
Enslavement of the Yazidi Woman
The court found her guilty of enslaving a Yazidi woman while staying at the home of another ISIS jihadist between May and October 2015. The Yazidi woman had been captured during ISIS attacks in the area around Mount Sinjar in August 2014. During these attacks, Yazidi men and boys who refused to convert to Islam were executed, while thousands of Yazidi women and girls were enslaved.
Court's Findings and Verdict
During the trial, Hasna A. denied enslaving the Yazidi woman, stating that while she was aware the woman was held against her will, she never personally issued her orders. However, the court rejected her defense, concluding that she was fully aware of the systematic attacks on the Yazidi community and participated in them.
Additional Convictions and Sentencing
The court also convicted Hasna A. of membership in a terrorist organization, promoting the commission of terrorist crimes, and endangering her disabled son by taking him into a warzone. Her ten-year sentence is two years longer than what the Public Prosecution Service had requested.
Repatriation and Detention
Hasna A. was repatriated to the Netherlands in November 2022, along with eleven other women and their twenty-eight children, from a Syrian prison camp. Since her return, she has been held in a high-security section of the Zwolle penitentiary designated for terrorism-related cases.
Source: Rechtspraak.nl