On August 29, 2023, Jennifer W. was once again standing before the Higher
Regional Court in Munich.





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ISIS Women In Court: Jennifer W. – Taking Responsibility


Read ISIS Women in Court: Jennifer W. – Taking Responsibility by clicking here
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.



ISIS Women in Court: Jennifer W. – Taking Responsibility

By Sofia Koller, Senior Research Analyst, CEP



The women who left Germany to join ISIS and returned are standing trial. This
CEP blog series follows the trials of some of these female returnees, including
Monika K. (readhere
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), Nadine K. (here
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andhere
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), Marcia M. (here
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), and Jennifer W. (first part here
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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 August 29, 2023, Jennifer W. was once again standing before the Higher
Regional Court in Munich. After the public prosecutor successfully appealed her
firstconviction
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in October 2021, another set of judges had to decide the adequate sentence for
thecrimes
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that Jennifer W. committed in Iraq eight years ago. These new judgessentenced
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Jennifer W. to 14 years in prison for her membership in the so-called Islamic
State (ISIS) and, inter alia, a crime against humanity in the form of
enslavement resulting in death. This increased her original sentence by four
years.



A Crime Against Humanity



In summer 2015, Jennifer W. and her husband Iraqi national Taha Al J.,
enslaved, exploited, and abused Yazidi woman Nora T. B. and her five-year-old
daughter Reda, resulting in the girl’s death. In 2021, a German courtsentenced
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Taha Al J. to life imprisonment for his ISIS membership and, inter alia,
genocide. Weeks earlier, Jennifer W. was convicted of ISIS membership and her
role in the crimes against Nora T. B. and Reda. However, the court sentenced
her to 10 years in prison for a “less serious case” of enslavement, effectively
limiting the maximum prison sentence that could be imposed.



Not a "Less Serious Case" of Enslavement



Both the defendant and the public prosecutor appealed the verdict. The Federal
Court of Justice in Karlsruhe (BGH) rejected the defendant’s appeal but
followed the prosecutor’s arguments. In March 2023, the BGHfound
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that the judges in the earlier case did not adequately consider allaggravating
circumstances
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, especially the “inhuman motives and goals of the defendant.” Under the German
criminal code, the circumstances in which a crime has been committed influence
the sentencing decision. The BGH largely lifted the judges’ decision and
referred Jennifer W.’s case back to another senate of the Munich Higher
Regional Court.



During the second trial in summer 2023, the judges indeed found that
“mitigating factors did not outweigh” the aggravating elements of her case and
that consequently Jennifer W.’s was not a “less serious
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” case of enslavement. For example, aggravating circumstances included the
length of the enslavement of several weeks and that the victims were not able
to tell how long their enslavement would last. In addition, the court found
that the defendant’s behavior after the crime increased the seriousness of her
crime. Directly after Reda’s death, Jennifer W. held a weapon to Nora T. B.’s
head, threatening to kill the mother if she did not stop crying. After her
return to Germany, Jennifer W. also tried to travel a second time to Iraq. Most
importantly, the court followed the prosecutor’s argument that Jennifer W.’s
crimes must be considered in the larger context of thegenocide
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against the Yazidi community. Recognizing the defendant’s “inhumane
motivation” as well as the co-plaintiff’s severe and ongoing psychological
suffering sends a strong signal to the Yazidi community and victims of
terrorism in general.



Mitigating circumstances included that Jennifer W. had no criminal record
(like almost all German female returnees); the five years of pre-trial
detention as a terrorism suspect, which includes increased security related
restrictions; and that in the end, she largely admitted to the charges and
demonstrated remorse.



“No one can imagine what life was like with [Taha Al J.]”



An interesting aspect of this second trial was indeed Jennifer W.’s personal
development. In 2021, she had admitted to some of the charges, including
traveling to ISIS territory, living in women’s guest houses, and her husband’s
ISIS membership. However, Jennifer W. denied having exploited Nora T. B. or
having forced her to pray. At that time, the defendant also argued that she did
not dare to help the child out of fear of being pushed or locked up by her
husband—a reasoning difficult to comprehend. Two years later, Jennifer W.
admitted
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that she had “relativized or contested” some aspects of the situation during
her first trial. She confirmed that Reda had in fact died, something that the
defense had tried to dispute during the first trial.



It is difficult to say whether Jennifer W. has genuinely begun to reflect on
her actions. Despite her admissions, the prosecutors continued to highlight
that she does not display “heartfelt remorse” and pointed out her “ambivalent
behavior” during pre-trial detention. Jennifer W.’s defense lawyer admitted to
this “ambivalence” but argued that she “was on the right path.” Indeed, in her
final statement, Jennifer W., while crying apologized again for not having done
anything to prevent Reda’s death and for her behavior during the first trial.
Jennifer W. declared that she now understood that, maybe for the first time in
her life, she must take responsibility for her actions. At the same time,
Jennifer W. still seemed to partly blame her inaction on her husband’s
aggressive nature. Jennifer W. also said she was “misunderstood” when
criticized for not showing strong emotions in public and cited her mental
stress.



Bringing German ISIS Members to Justice



Jennifer W.’s verdict is not yet legally binding, but it is unlikely that the
decision will be appealed again. If confirmed, the final sentence of 14 years
would be the longest sentence ever handed to either a female or male returnee
in Germany. Partly, this is due to the difficulties in accessing usable
evidence in these complex trials. Onlyfew
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German male returnees have been charged with core international crimes, and as
of August 2023, none have been charged with crimes against the Yazidi minority.
This is also due to the fact that the German government hasrepatriated
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all women and minors willing to return, while at least37 male fighters
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with a connection to Germany remain detained in Northeast Syria. Without a
roadmap for their repatriation, these men remain unlawfully detained and are
not held accountable for their crimes either in Syria or in Germany.



When Jennifer W. received her verdict, her face was petrified. For her, the
hard work will start once she is transferred to regular detention. There, she
can hopefully begin to really reflect upon her crimes and work on understanding
the motivations that led her to join a terrorist organization and disregard
basic human instincts.


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