Overview

• Lina Ishaq, a 52-year-old Swedish citizen, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for enslaving Yazidi women and children in Raqqa, Syria, in 2015.
• The Stockholm District Court found her guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity, and gross war crimes, marking Sweden's first case addressing ISIS crimes against Yazidis.
• The victims were held as slaves, forced to perform domestic chores, convert to Islam, and were prepared for transfer to other ISIS members as property.
• Ishaq's actions were part of ISIS's broader campaign of genocide and systematic enslavement targeting Yazidis, whose male relatives were often executed during the group's attacks.
• The court reduced Ishaq's sentence from 16 years to 12, factoring in a prior conviction from 2022 for allowing her son to be recruited as a child soldier for ISIS.