An Iraqi court has issued a death sentence against one of the wives of the late Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The court alleges that she was complicit in crimes committed against Yazidi women captured by the militant group. This ruling comes ahead of the 10-year mark since IS launched attacks against the Yazidi religious minority in Sinjar in 2014, resulting in the killing and capturing of thousands, including women and girls subjected to human trafficking and sexual abuse.
The Karkh Criminal Court in Iraq sentenced the woman for detaining Yazidi women in her home and facilitating their kidnapping by IS in Sinjar district. The ruling was made in accordance with Iraq's anti-terrorism law and its Yazidi survivors law. The defendant, identified as Asma Mohammed, was arrested in Turkey in 2018 and later extradited to Iraq.
Another wife of al-Baghdadi and his daughter, also extradited from Turkey to Iraq, received a life sentence. These sentences were handed down a week ago but were announced by the judicial council recently.
Survivors of IS attacks in Iraq have expressed concerns about accountability and criticized the decision to end a U.N. probe into IS crimes. Human rights groups have raised issues regarding due process in trials of alleged IS members in Iraq and have called for the abolition of the death penalty. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have highlighted the extraction of confessions under torture.
In 2014, al-Baghdadi declared the militant group's caliphate in Iraq and Syria. He was killed in a U.S. raid in Syria in 2019, dealing a significant blow to the group. While IS has lost control of its previously held territories, some cells continue to carry out attacks.
