France charges ISIS leader’s ex-wife with crimes against humanity
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – France charged a former wife of an Islamic State (ISIS) leader with crimes against humanity against a Yazidi girl in Syria, a French newspaper reported on Saturday.
Le Parisien said Sonia M., the ex-wife of an ISIS leader responsible for the group’s external operations, was charged on March 14 for mistreating and enslaving a Yazidi girl.
The Yazidi girl was 16 at the time when Abdelnasser Benyoucef, Sonia’s husband, bought her as a slave in the city of Raqqa, northern Syria. She accused Sonia of raping her twice and being aware of her husband’s actions.
The Yazidi girl, who is now 25 years old, said she was held captive for more than a month in Syria in 2015, adding that she was not allowed to eat or drink without Sonia’s permission.
Meanwhile, Sonia denied the charges and admitted to French investigators to only one incident of rape by Benyoucef.
On Aug. 3, 2014, ISIS killed thousands of Yazidi men and kidnaped more than 6,000 Yazidis during its attack in 2014 on Sinjar. Over half of them remain missing, according to official figures.
Most of Yazidis were sold as sex slaves by ISIS militants in markets in Syria and Iraq.
Additionally, a source close to the investigation said an arrest warrant was issued for Benyoucef.