Life Sentence in Munich for Iraqi ISIS Couple Who Enslaved and Tortured Two Minors

Another significant chapter in the international prosecution of crimes committed by the so-called “Islamic State” concluded today in Germany. The Munich Higher Regional Court found two Iraqi nationals, Tuana H.S. and Azia R.A., guilty, sentencing each to life imprisonment. The charges included participation in genocide, child enslavement, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

They were arrested in April 2024 in the state of Bavaria, after several years on the run. The trial shed light on the horrors the pair inflicted on two girls from the Yazidi community between 2015 and 2017, in territories once controlled by ISIS between Iraq and Syria. Initially, the couple kidnapped a 5-year-old child and later another 12-year-old.

In their apartment, the minors were kept as slaves and endured a true nightmare of constant physical violence, psychological torture, and sexual assault. Beyond the brutal abuse, they were forcibly made to adopt the extremist ideology of their captors. The panel of judges heard shocking testimony about the active and sadistic role of each defendant.

Tuana H.S. is accused of repeatedly raping both victims. Meanwhile, his wife, Azia R.A., had an equally macabre participation in these acts. She was responsible for preparing the abuse room and for applying makeup to the girls before each instance of rape. Furthermore, the woman deliberately inflicted burns on the minors’ bodies and punished them by making them stand on one leg for extended periods.

When the forces of the “Islamic State” began to withdraw in 2017, the couple fled Syria. However, instead of releasing them, they handed the two girls over to other members of the terrorist organization, causing the children’s traces to be lost for a long time. This German court decision marks a further crucial step in the efforts to bring the perpetrators of the genocide against the Yazidi population to justice.