Religion

Yezidi activist awarded with US humanitarian award

Dinnayi tirelessly worked with German sub-national governments to evacuate 1,100 Yezidi men, women, and children who had been abused and abducted by ISIS.

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2024/01/19 23:48

Mirza Dinnayi, a Yezidi human rights defender was awarded a religious freedom award by the US Government (Photo: Mirza Dinnayi/X).

USA religious freedom Mirza Dinnayi International Religious Freedom Awards Yezidi Genocide

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Mirza Dinnayi, a Yezidi human rights defender who assisted evacuating 1,100 people during the group’s ISIS-led genocide in August 2014,was awarded on the US Secretary of State’s International Religious Freedom Awards on Friday.

I can’t find enough words to express my gratitude to the @StateDept & @StateIRF for selecting me among seven other incredible hero’s around the world to receive the Secretary of State’s International Religious Freedom Award 2023. It was a great pleasure to join the ceremony in… pic.twitter.com/8eRny0lwcN
— Mirza Dinnayi (@MDinnayi) January 18, 2024

“I can’t find enough words to express my gratitude to the @StateDept & @StateIRF for selecting me among seven other incredible hero’s around the world to receive the Secretary of State’s International Religious Freedom Award 2023,” Dinnayi said in a post on X. “It was a great pleasure to join the ceremony in Washington DC today.”

Mirza Dinnayi is a Yezidi human rights defender who assisted evacuating 1,100 people during the ISIS-led genocide against Yezidis and provided survivors with free rehabilitation and lifesaving support. #IRF_Award pic.twitter.com/hdGzODEDaI
— Office of International Religious Freedom (@StateIRF) January 18, 2024

The US Office of Religous Freedom said that in 2014, during the ISIS-led genocide against the Yezidi community, “Dinnayi tirelessly worked with German sub-national governments to evacuate 1,100 Yezidi men, women, and children who had been abused and abducted by ISIS from the Sinjar area of northern Iraq.”

“Thanks to Dinnayi’s efforts, these individuals were relocated to Germany to receive two years of medical care and therapy. Earlier, Dinnayi also co-founded Air Bridge Iraq (Luftbrücke Irak) to fly terrorism victims of all ethnicities and religions out of Iraq to Germany for medical and psychological treatment.”