The women who left Germany to join ISIS and returned are standing trial. This
new CEP blog series follows the trials of some of these female returnees. The
first part on Monika K. can be found here. An overview of the state of
prosecutions in Germany can be found here (available in English and German) and
recent developments in repatriation here.





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ISIS Women In Court: Nadine K. – What Role In The Yazidi Genocide?



Read ISIS Women In Court: Nadine K. – What Role In The Yazidi Genocide? by
clickinghere
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.



ISIS Women In Court: Nadine K. – What Role In The Yazidi Genocide?

By Sofia Koller, Senior Research Analyst, CEP



The women who left Germany to join ISIS and returned are standing trial. This
new CEP blog series follows the trials of some of these female returnees. The
first part on Monika K. can be foundhere
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. An overview of the state of prosecutions in Germany can be foundhere
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(available in English and German) and recent developments in repatriationhere
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.



On January 11, 2023, another trial against a female returnee began before the
Higher Regional Court in Koblenz. The allegations against Nadine K. are
substantial. TheGerman Federal Prosecutor charged
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her with membership in a foreign terrorist organization in conjunction with
aiding and abetting genocide, crimes against humanity, aiding and abetting
crimes against humanity, war crimes, as well as violation of the war weapons
control act. Nadine K.’s alleged conduct also included aiding and abetting
sexual assault, sexual coercion or rape, and (exploitation through) deprivation
of liberty.



Falling in Love and Joining ISIS



The presumption of innocence until proven guilty is a basic judicial
principal. However, based on the information provided in court so far, a
timeline of events has emerged. Nadine K., 37 years old, was born in
Idar-Oberstein, Rhineland-Palatine. Due to financial difficulties, she stopped
her studies of computer sciences and began working in care and service jobs
when she met her future husband under Islamic law Ibrahim N. O. from Syria.
Reportedly, Ibrahim N. O. hadgained prominence
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during the Syrian revolution, caring for wounded opposition members. As the
risks of his activities in Syria increased, he faked his death and fled to
Europe. After meeting Ibrahim N. O., Nadine K. converted to Islam in
preparation of their marriage under Islamic law. It seems that her emotional
attachment to Ibrahim N. O. as well as her radicalization through the
consumption of online material led to her decision to follow him when he
traveled to Turkey in late 2014. Presumably after having crossed the border to
Syria, the couple joined ISIS, lived in several houses in Iraq and Syria, and
had two children. While Nadine K. stayed at home, Ibrahim N. O. worked as a
doctor and married several other women. The family stayed with ISIS until the
end and was captured by Kurdish forces while attempting to flee from Baghouz in
spring 2019. Ibrahim N. O. reportedly remains in detention in Northeast Syria.
Nadine K. and her children were repatriated in March 2022.



Following her repatriation, Nadine K. was arrested by German authorities and
is accused of membership in ISIS. She is also, inter alia, charged with aiding
and abetting the enslavement, exploitation, and rape of Naveen Al K., a Yazidi
woman, between 2016 and 2019.



Germany’s Pioneering Role



Nadine K.’s potential role in the Yazidi genocide
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is one of the trial’s central aspects. It underlines once more Germany’s
pioneering role in prosecuting both male and female ISIS members for crimes
committed against Yazidis from the summer of 2014 onwards. For example, in
November 2021, a German courtconvicted
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the first male ISIS member for genocide and in July 2022, the first German
female returnee wasconvicted
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for, inter alia, aiding and abetting genocide. In January 2023, the German
parliamentrecognized
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the crimes committed against the Yazidi community as genocide. Representatives
from the Yazidi community in Germany—the largest outside of Iraq—saw this as an
“extremely strong, important signal
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.” The role women played in the perpetration of this genocide is increasingly
recognized by German authorities and has beenused by prosecutors
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to support charges against female returnees of membership in a terrorist
organization. So far, five women have been convicted (at least in first
instance) for crimes against Yazidis in Germany. Prosecution of these crimes
have also started in other European countries, such asFrance
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or theNetherlands
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.



The Unbearable Details of a Genocide



During the court proceedings in Koblenz, the judges read aloud the findings of
the German structural investigation concerning ISIS international crimes. The
unbearable details of the Yazidi genocide—accounts of men being shot, women and
children enslaved and raped, lists of mass graves, destroyed shrines, the
desperation and shame of the survivors—stood in contrast to the judges’ neutral
tone. A few days later, Leonora M.—a friend of Nadine K. who briefly met Naveen
Al K., the Yazidi survivor—testified that Naveen Al K. seemed happy and
allegedly said that “she was in love with [Nadine K.’s] husband.”



When You Have Nowhere to Go



Naveen Al K. is a co-plaintiff in the case and traveled to Germany from Iraq
to testify. According to her testimony, she and her family were happy before
ISIS attacked. During her detailed questioning, Naveen Al K. described how she
and other Yazidi women and girls were captured, auctioned, forced to convert to
Islam, and raped by ISIS fighters. Naveen Al K. was eventually brought to
Ibrahim N. O. as a ‘gift’, who was expected to take care of all household
chores for him and his wives and was forced to pray with them. When Ibrahim N.
O. came to her room to rape Naveen Al K., Nadine K. would leave the house.
Naveen Al K. admitted that Nadine K. herself never hit her—contrary to Ibrahim
N. O., who physically assaulted both women. Having to relive these experiences
was clearly extremely difficult for Naveen Al K. Repeatedly, she asked for
breaks and even fainted once.



Naveen Al K.’s statements during the proceedings incriminated Nadine K., as
she did not let Naveen Al K. leave the house and exploited her through forced
work. Other aspects are more difficult to establish, partly because the witness
could not remember key details or because she could not understand
conversations in English or German. For example, Naveen Al K. argued that
Nadine K. “knew for sure” that Ibrahim N. O. was raping her and was against it.
However, Naveen Al K. could not explain how she became aware of Nadine K.’s
knowledge of and opposition to her rape. Also, Naveen Al K. said that even if
she had managed to escape, she would not have gotten far because of ISIS’s
presence.



“I Am Born a Yazidi and I Will Die as a Yazidi”



During her detention in Al Howl camp, Naveen Al K. finally revealed herself as
a Yazidi to a British journalist and was reunited with her family. Until today,
she suffers from back pain and nightmares. Nevertheless, she was determined to
testify in the proceedings against Nadine K. and stressed that she was born a
Yazidi and would die as a Yazidi, defying ISIS’s objective to destroy the
Yazidi community through, inter alia, forced conversions, killings, and rape.



Contributions from Yazidi survivors are crucial in trials against ISIS members
to ensure accountability for their crimes. But many challenges remain. Not only
do potential witnesses and co-plaintiffs need to be located and be willing to
testify in a German court. Adequate psychosocial support should be ensured
before, during, and after the trial, and verdicts should at the very least be
translated into English. During Naveen Al K.’s testimony linguistic,
intercultural, and legal differences became apparent. A proposed—though
controversial—reform
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of the international criminal code (VStGB) aims to address some of these
issues.



It remains to be seen how the court will assess Naveen Al K.’s testimony. The
trial is expected to continue until July 2023.



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