She Faced Her ISIS Rapist in Court, Then Watched Him Sentenced to Death
On Monday,March 2, 2020 "The New York Times" had published an article entitled: "She Faced Her ISIS Rapist in Court, Then Watched Him Sentenced to Death"
“For the first time, an Iraqi court has held the Islamic State accountable for its atrocities against the Yazidi religious minority”.
“BAGHDAD — Iraq has held thousands of trials for members of the Islamic State,
A soft-spoken 20-year old Yazidi woman changed that when she decided to testify in open court.
The witness, Ashwaq Haji Hamid Talo, gave a restrained but searing account to judges and before the public — in the presence of the ISIS militant to whom she was once given as a gift, and who raped her repeatedly”.
“The defendant, Mohammed Rashid Sahab, 36, who is an Iraqi, was found guilty of participating in a terrorist organization and in the rape and abduction of Yazidi women. He was given the death penalty” the article added.
“The most important thing to me is that my dream came true and I was watching the one who raped me being sentenced to death,” Ms. Haji Hamid said afterward.
“The trial, which ended on Monday, was the first in Iraq to specifically address the Islamic State’s crimes against the Yazidis — or at least one militant’s crimes. It was also the first in which a Yazidi victim personally confronted her attacker”.
“I want my story to reach the whole world, so my message is heard by my friends and gives them the courage to do the same thing that I did, so that they can get revenge on Daesh,” she said, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State.
The chief judge in the case expressed a similar wish.
“We hope that if people hear about this case, others will come forward,” said Judge Haider Jalil Khalil of the Kharkh Criminal Court in Baghdad. He said the judiciary had been hampered in bringing this kind of case by the reluctance of victims to testify in public.
“In Iraqi society, it is especially difficult for women to speak out in public about rape, as Ms. Haji Hamid did, for fear that they will be accused of having allowed the men to rape them and that they will tarnish their family name”.
“But perhaps if they see that the judiciary will give them their rights, they will come forward now if they hear about this case,” Judge Khalil said.
The international human rights community has criticized the Iraqi judiciary for holding rapid-fire trials against large numbers of ISIS members without detailing their individual crimes. “A vague charge of terrorism just does not do justice to the act committed,” said Belkis Wille, the senior Iraq researcher for Human Rights Watch.
NYtimes.com
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She Faced Her ISIS Rapist in Court, Then Watched Him Sentenced to Death
On Monday,March 2, 2020 "The New York Times" had published an article entitled: "She Faced Her ISIS Rapist in Court, Then Watched Him Sentenced to Death"
“For the first time, an Iraqi court has held the Islamic State accountable for its atrocities against the Yazidi religious minority”.
“BAGHDAD — Iraq has held thousands of trials for members of the Islamic State,
A soft-spoken 20-year old Yazidi woman changed that when she decided to testify in open court.
The witness, Ashwaq Haji Hamid Talo, gave a restrained but searing account to judges and before the public — in the presence of the ISIS militant to whom she was once given as a gift, and who raped her repeatedly”.
“The defendant, Mohammed Rashid Sahab, 36, who is an Iraqi, was found guilty of participating in a terrorist organization and in the rape and abduction of Yazidi women. He was given the death penalty” the article added.
“The most important thing to me is that my dream came true and I was watching the one who raped me being sentenced to death,” Ms. Haji Hamid said afterward.
“The trial, which ended on Monday, was the first in Iraq to specifically address the Islamic State’s crimes against the Yazidis — or at least one militant’s crimes. It was also the first in which a Yazidi victim personally confronted her attacker”.
“I want my story to reach the whole world, so my message is heard by my friends and gives them the courage to do the same thing that I did, so that they can get revenge on Daesh,” she said, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State.
The chief judge in the case expressed a similar wish.
“We hope that if people hear about this case, others will come forward,” said Judge Haider Jalil Khalil of the Kharkh Criminal Court in Baghdad. He said the judiciary had been hampered in bringing this kind of case by the reluctance of victims to testify in public.
“In Iraqi society, it is especially difficult for women to speak out in public about rape, as Ms. Haji Hamid did, for fear that they will be accused of having allowed the men to rape them and that they will tarnish their family name”.
“But perhaps if they see that the judiciary will give them their rights, they will come forward now if they hear about this case,” Judge Khalil said.
The international human rights community has criticized the Iraqi judiciary for holding rapid-fire trials against large numbers of ISIS members without detailing their individual crimes. “A vague charge of terrorism just does not do justice to the act committed,” said Belkis Wille, the senior Iraq researcher for Human Rights Watch.
NYtimes.com
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