German court upholds ‘War Crimes’ prison sentence. Who will be next?

Last month, the German Federal Court of Justice confirmed a German ISIS member’s 14-year prison sentence for crimes against humanity, war crimes and membership in a foreign terrorist organization. 

The now 32-year-old ‘Jennifer W’ travelled to Syria in 2014 to join ISIS. Together with her then-husband – Iraqi national Taha A.-J. – she held a Yazidi woman and her 5-year-old daughter Reda as slaves in their home in Fallujah, Iraq, as part of ISIS’ brutal genocidal campaign against the Yazidis. 

The Yazidi captives were deprived of sufficient food, forced to follow Islamic rules, and subjected to almost daily beatings. The Yazidi girl ultimately died after the defendant’s husband tied her with a cable to the bars of the outside window and left her hanging there in the scorching heat of up to about 50 degrees Celsius. 

Although Jennifer W. could have intervened, she did nothing to save her life. Instead, the girl’s mother was forced to watch her daughter die a slow death while she was held just metres away inside the house. 

After the NGO Yazda identified and interviewed the mother, Jennifer W. was put on trial in Germany, with the mother as the key witness. She was represented by a legal team consisting of German lawyers Natalie von Wistinghausen and Wolfgang Bendler and UK barrister Amal Clooney. 

Jennifer W. was sentenced to a prison term of 14 years in August 2023. Last month, the defendant’s appeal against the sentence was rejected as ‘manifestly unfounded’ and the sentencing decision is now final. 

Commenting on the final decision, Amal Clooney said: 

‘The trial against Jennifer W. was the first trial anywhere in the world against an ISIS member for crimes against humanity and the first trial charging ISIS with crimes against Yazidis. This landmark case was made possible by the courage and determination of my client.’ 

'Thanks to other Yazidi survivors who have also come forward, we have now seen 7 other ISIS members convicted of war crimes against Yazidis in German courts. These milestones are important.’ 'But 40,000 people from more than 80 countries joined ISIS, and there are thousands of victims of genocide still waiting for their day in court. It is time for an international court that can deliver this’.