Dutch Justice Minister meets Yezidi Nobel laureate Nadia Murad

"Yezidis such as Nadia deserve our attention and deep respect."
Dutch Minister of Justice and Security Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius met with Yezidi activist Nadia Murad on Friday, May 13, 2022 (Photo: Twitter/Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius)
Dutch Minister of Justice and Security Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius met with Yezidi activist Nadia Murad on Friday, May 13, 2022 (Photo: Twitter/Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Dutch Minister of Justice and Security Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius met with Yezidi Nobel laureate Nadia Murad on Friday. 

"Nadia Murad was the victim of the barbarians of ISIS. She uses her unbelievable strength now to fight for human rights and deservedly received the Nobel Peace Prize for it," Yesilgöz-Zegerius tweeted

"Yezidis such as Nadia deserve our attention and deep respect."

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also met Murad at the conference 'Obtaining Justice and Reparations for Survivors of Genocide' held in The Hague on Friday, where she spoke.

"As a Yezidi victim of ISIS crimes, she works tirelessly to improve the plight of the Yezidi community in Iraq and to end impunity," Rutte tweeted.

Yesilgöz-Zegerius previously met with the Dutch Yezidi community in March. 

Read More: Dutch Minister meets with Yezidis, discusses ISIS crimes

At the time, she said, "efforts are being made to ensure that these crimes (against Yezidis by ISIS) do not go unpunished."

During that meeting, the Yezidis demanded an investigation into the role of social media platforms such as Twitter in crimes against them. 

This year, the majority of the Dutch parliament accepted a resolution calling on the government to include crimes against the Yezidi community in the collection of evidence against ISIS militants.

Read More: Dutch parliament debates prosecution of ISIS crimes with focus on Yezidis

The resolution came after the Netherlands repatriated more ISIS women from Syria earlier this year, leading to fears among the Yezidi community that crimes by ISIS would go unpunished.

On Thursday, a Dutch court decided that the Dutch government must repatriate 12 more women and their 29 children within four months, the Dutch public broadcaster NOS reported.

The Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Liesje Schreinemacher, also visited Yezidis in displacement camps in the Kurdistan Region on Apr. 29

Read More: Dutch Minister speaks to Yezidi women on last day of visit to Kurdistan

"Their stories are heartbreaking. The crimes committed against the Yezidi community by ISIS cannot remain unpunished," Schreinemacher underlined in a tweet.