Sentencing of ISIS member Taha al-Jumailly for Genocide

Today is a historic day for our community. For the first time, a member of the Islamic State (ISIS, Daesh) has been found guilty of genocide against our people, one of the most persecuted minorities on Earth. Taha al-Jumailly, aka Taha A.J., 29, will spend the rest of his life in prison after being convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and human trafficking by a court in Frankfurt.

We, the Yezidi community, have been crying out for justice for the past seven years. While thousands of European ISIS members have returned home, the bones of our people lay unprotected in mass graves. Our houses lay empty, some still rigged with mines. Hundreds of thousands of Yezidis languish in IDP camps, and more than 2,700 Yezidi women and children are still unaccounted for.

Today’s ruling is a significant victory in our ongoing battle for justice. The horrific crimes committed by this ISIS member have been recognised and met with appropriate punishment. Al-Jumailly enslaved a Yezidi woman and her daughter. He chained the five-year-old child to a fence in the heat until she died. He will remain in prison for his entire life, but our quest will continue unabated as Yezidis pursue justice in every jurisdiction possible.

It must be noted that this case was brought forward by German authorities when Al Jumailly’s wife, Jennifer Wenisch[1], unwittingly explained the crimes they committed to an FBI informant that she thought was an ISIS member. How many ISIS members guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity, slavery, rape, and murder are yet to be prosecuted? We call upon law enforcement authorities, particularly in Europe, to accelerate investigation and indictment of their citizens who participated in these crimes.

We also call upon Iraqi authorities to immediately pass legislation criminalizing international atrocities such as genocide and crimes against humanity, so that a specialized court or hybrid tribunal can be established to try the many thousands of ISIS members in Iraqi custody for their crimes against Yezidis.

FYF is grateful to Germany for its efforts in prosecuting this case. We hope this will lead to further efforts, in Germany and elsewhere, toward justice and accountability in the aftermath of the Yezidi Genocide.

[1] FYF statement on the sentencing of Jennifer Wenisch