ISIS on trial in Berlin

German Woman Goes on Trial in Death of 5-Year-Old Girl Held as ISIS Slave

Devoted followers of the Islamic State, a man and woman bought a 5-year-old Yazidi girl in Iraq to use as a slave, then let her die of thirst in the scorching heat, the German authorities contend in the trial of the woman, which began on Tuesday — one of the highest-profile cases against a female member of the terrorist group.

. . . .

But the Yazidi girl’s mother, whose identity has not been released, is expected to testify, providing both key evidence and the emotional heart of the case. 

The mother, who says she was also held as a slave by the German woman and her husband, is serving as a co-plaintiff in the trial but was not in court for the opening proceedings.

“Our client would like to see justice served, as well as the opportunity to finally give a full account of her suffering and that of her daughter,” one of the woman’s lawyers, Natalie von Wistinghausen, said in a statement. 

The girl’s mother is also represented by Amal Clooney, an international human rights lawyer.

When ISIS overran northern Iraq in 2014, thousands of Yazidi women and girls were abducted and sold to ISIS members as slaves. 

They also became victims of brutal sexual assault.

According to the indictment, Jennifer W. and her husband “bought a 5-year-old girl in summer 2015 from a group of prisoners of war and kept her in their home as a slave.”

“After the girl fell ill and wet her mattress, the defendant’s husband punished the girl by chaining her up outside in the searing heat and leaving her in great agony to die of thirst,” prosecutors said. 

“The defendant let her husband do as he liked, and took no action to save the girl.”

. . . .

Germany is struggling with how to handle dozens of women who left the country for Syria and Iraq, many of whom married ISIS fighters, and now have children who are German citizens. 

While they are legally allowed to return home, many Germans do not want to see them allowed back without being tried for their roles in supporting the terror organization.

But German law requires concrete proof of wrongdoing, so without evidence like photos showing them posing with weapons, or social media accounts where they spread propaganda or sought to recruit others, it can be difficult to bring charges against them.

In the case of Jennifer W., prosecutors were helped by her own eagerness to tell the man who offered to drive her as far as Turkey about her life in ISIS. 

American intelligence officials had tipped off their colleagues in Germany about the woman, allowing the Germans to set her up with a driver, whose car was bugged, German news media reported.

She told the driver about leaving her home in northwestern Germany in August 2014, and making her way through Turkey and Syria to Iraq. 

Once she arrived, prosecutors said, she joined the Islamic State and swiftly rose through the ranks, becoming a member of the Hisbah, the morality police, patrolling the parks of Falluja and Mosul, Iraq.

“Her job was to make sure that women were upholding the terror organization’s dress and behavior codes,” they said. 

“To intimidate them, she carried an AK-47 machine gun, a pistol and an explosive vest.”