Sweden and France start a joint working group to prosecute ISIS fighters for the genocide of the Yazidis
Authorities in Sweden and France have started a joint team to investigate atrocities committed by ISIS against the Yazidis.
Europe’s criminal justice agency, Eurojust, has set up a team to prosecute foreign terrorist fighters for their persecution of the Yazidi population.
More than 10,000 Yazidis were killed when ISIS swept through northern Iraq in 2014 and about 7,000 women and girls were enslaved, many of whom are still missing.
“The main purpose of the team will be to identify foreign terrorist fighters who were involved in key international crimes, such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, committed mainly against members of the Yazidi minority during the armed conflict in Syria and Iraq, with a view to potentially prosecution, “said Eurojust.
“The team will also focus on identifying the victims and witnesses of these crimes committed by foreign terrorist fighters in Syria and Iraq.”
The joint initiative aims to share information and evidence more quickly and avoid multiple interviews of the same victim.
Investigations in the two countries are ongoing and coordinated by Eurojust through the Swedish and French authorities, with the support of the Secretariat of the Genocide Network, which hosts Eurojust.
Eurojust helps countries determine the most appropriate jurisdiction for prosecution and provides advice to prevent multiple legal action against perpetrators of the same crime.
The authorities involved in the team will work with the UN Investigation Team to promote responsibility for crimes committed by ISIS in Iraq (Unitad).
“The organization has a significant amount of evidence and expertise in investigating key international crimes, which can be crucial in identifying the crimes committed,” said Eurojust.
“The team’s investigative efforts will be of added value to the judiciary in other EU Member States or third countries, which want to stop the impunity of foreign terrorist fighters involved in fundamental international crimes such as slavery or sexual violence against members of the Yazidi community.
“Fighting impunity for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity is the main goal of the genocide network at Eurojust. It actively supports judicial authorities that raise cumulative allegations of terrorism and fundamental international crimes, in order to achieve justice.”
Last year, Germany became the first country to convict an ISIS member of genocide against the Yazidis.
It was the first time a court had used the word “genocide” to describe what happened to the Yazidis.
Germany has applied the legal principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows prosecution even if alleged crimes have been committed in a foreign country.
ISIS massacred thousands of Yazidi men and elderly women in 2014, leaving them in mass graves.
The militants then took young boys to train as child soldiers and girls as sex slaves.
Unitad, working to dig up the mass graves for the terrorist group.
There are more than 200 mass graves in Iraq attributed to ISIS, which are believed to contain up to 12,000 bodies.
Updated: January 7, 2022, 12:54 p.m.