Copenhagen, Feb 12, (dpa/GNA) – A Swedish court on Tuesday, convicted a woman of genocide, crimes against humanity, and gross war crimes against the Yezidi religious group in the Middle East.
The 52-year-old woman was sentenced to 12 years in prison, after the deduction of previously imposed sentences, the Stockholm District Court said in a statement.
The court found that the woman, shared the ideological intention of the extremist militia organization Islamic State, to eradicate the Yezidi people.
At the height of its power in Iraq and Syria about a decade ago, the Islamic State brutally persecuted the Yezidi minority.
The court considers these actions to constitute genocide, crimes against humanity and serious war crimes against the Yezidi people.
The woman, from the Swedish city of Halmstad, was involved in these acts in the Syrian city of Raqqa in 2015. Three women and six children from northern Iraq were brought to the defendant after being held in captivity for months by male members of the Islamic State.
The defendant held the group captive for almost five months, treating them as slaves, the court document said. During this time, the victims were forced to practice Islam.
An appeal against the verdict can be lodged with a higher court.
GNA