Dutch Woman Sentenced to 10 Years for Enslaving Yazidi Woman in Syria

Hasna Aarab convicted of crimes against humanity for her role in the Islamic State's systemic abuse of Yazidi women.

Hasna Aarab, a 33-year-old Dutch woman, was convicted by a Dutch court for crimes against humanity, including enslaving a Yazidi woman in Syria between 2015 and 2016.
The court sentenced Aarab to 10 years in prison, exceeding the prosecution's request for an 8-year term, citing the severity of her actions and their alignment with systemic attacks on the Yazidi community.
The Yazidi victim, identified as Z., testified about her forced labor, sexual abuse, and separation from her son while living in Aarab's household in ISIS-controlled Raqqa.
Aarab was also found guilty of joining a terrorist organization, enabling acts of terrorism, and endangering her own child, whom she brought to Syria at age four.
This landmark case marks the first prosecution in the Netherlands addressing the Islamic State's atrocities against Yazidis, a religious minority targeted for genocide in Iraq and Syria.