Dutch court jails returnee for enslaving Yazidi woman in Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The Court of Appeal in The Hague sentenced on Wednesday a 34-year-old Dutch woman to nine years in prison for enslaving a Yazidi woman in Syria in 2015 while living under Islamic State (ISIS) rule, classifying the act as a crime against humanity.
Hasna A., who was repatriated in 2022 from the Roj Camp in northeastern Syria, received the verdict by video link from prison in Zwolle. Prosecutors had sought a 10-year term, matching a 2024 lower-court ruling.
Judges found that she and an ISIS fighter held a Yazidi woman, identified in court files as Z., as a slave in Raqqa.
The court said she forced Z. to perform exhausting housework, care for her child, and submit to religious practices while being verbally abused.
A second alleged victim was included in the charges, but the court said evidence was insufficient on that count.
The ruling noted that ISIS treated Yazidi women as “sabaya” sold in slave markets for hundreds of dollars. It also cited harm to the defendant’s young son, whom she brought into a war zone.
The court reduced the sentence due to diminished criminal responsibility and awarded financial compensation to the survivor. The Netherlands prosecuted the case under universal jurisdiction, allowing trials for crimes against humanity committed abroad.