Evidence of Ezidi genocide ‘lost’ due to Iraq’s rushed IS trials: HRW

There are no known trials specifically for crimes IS committed against the Ezidis as “evidence of [IS] crimes is being lost to time.”

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraq’s rushed trials and death sentences for Islamic State (IS) militants are making it difficult to prove the war crimes and genocide committed against the Yezidi (Ezidi) people in Shingal, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday.

There are still over 3,000 Ezidis in the hands of IS militants as Iraq has begun trials for members and sympathizers of the group.

According to the HRW report, there are no known trials specifically for crimes IS committed against the Ezidis as “evidence of [IS] crimes is being lost to time.”

“IS suspects are primarily being charged for [IS] membership, support, sympathy, or assistance under a vaguely-worded counterterrorism law,” it said.

Moreover, “trial judges are primarily relying on a defendants’ confessions, rarely requesting other evidence.”

Without evidence, the crimes against the Ezidis, which “amount to war crimes and may even rise to crimes against humanity or even genocide,” cannot be proven.

Aug. 3, 2018, marked the fourth anniversary of the Ezidi genocide where thousands of the minority group were subjected to atrocities and mass executions for many years at the hands of the extremist group after they overran Shingal.

The conflict forced hundreds of thousands of Ezidis to flee their homes, mainly toward the Kurdistan Region, while others were not as lucky.

IS subjected women to sexual slavery, kidnapped children, executed men, and abused, sold, and trafficked girls across areas they controlled in Iraq and Syria.

Although Kurdish forces with the support of the US-led coalition drove IS out of Shingal in November 2015, few Ezidis have returned.

Only 20 percent of the population has gone home due to security concerns, IEDs, and essential services significantly lacking.