Put Daesh on trial for atrocities against Yazidis
My former lawyer, Amal Clooney, must not stop until she convinces the United Nations and the Iraqi government to bring the Daesh members responsible for kidnapping and raping Yazidi client Nadia Murad to justice.
To understand Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL, is to acknowledge that bombs alone will not eradicate the extremist ideas behind it, and Clooney knows that.
Murad’s nightmare began when Daesh militants arrived at her village in Sinjar Kurdistan in northern Iraq Aug. 3, 2014. Thousands of men and older women were killed on the spot, including her mother and six of her brothers. More than 360,000 Yazidis were displaced in a matter of days.
In a dignified and passionate testimony at the UN, Murad explained how she and thousands of women were raped, sold as “sex slaves” and passed around to Daesh fighters.
Were they “spoils of war” as Daesh attempted to sell it to the world to justify its brutality?
Not a chance. The Yazidis are not at war with anyone.
They are estimated at 700,000 people — an ethnic and religious minority who worship a fallen angel named Melek Tawwus, or Peacock Angel.
Al Qaeda in Iraq branded them as infidels years before Daesh subjected them to this brutality similar to the bloody medieval times in ancient history we read about or try to re-enact in heartbreaking Hollywood dramas.
Murad refused to become a statistic among hundreds of Yazidi women who took their own lives in captivity.
Daesh justifies this killing and raping spree as fair game against the “kufar,” non-Muslim people such as Yazidis, Jews and Christians.
At a whim, even a non-practising Muslim like myself will counter this Daesh misinterpretation of the Qur’an by reiterating the first phrases of verse 256 of Al Bakara chapter in the Muslim holy book, which clearly states: “There shall be no compulsion in (acceptance of ) the religion.”
“Killing ISIS on the battlefield is not enough. We must kill the idea behind ISIS by exposing its brutality and bringing individual criminals to justice” Clooney argued in a passionate address at the U.N. earlier this month.
The prominent British-Lebanese lawyer remains unhappy about what she called the inaction of the UN. Standing before a room full of UN council delegates she asked, “Why, why is it that nothing has been done?”
Some argue that the notion of bringing Daesh to court is not realistic, saying there may not be enough evidence to incriminate individuals who committed some of the worst crimes in history.
I strongly disagree and I know for a fact that many of my fellow journalists and human rights defenders specialized in covering Daesh have compiled an abundance of incriminating evidence, testimonies and videos, including the Human Rights Watch report titled “Iraq: ISIS Escapees Describe Systematic Rape.”
To see the faces of the Daesh fighters who raped and killed thousands of innocent people paraded in a televised trial may begin to put off the fire of the Yazidis. It may give all the victims of Daesh a taste of justice.
A broadly televised trial will introduce their crimes, victims, legal arguments and court debates of Islamic misconceptions that may have led some of those extremists to believe they are righteously untouchable.
It is indeed a golden opportunity to address maladjusted young men susceptible to sophisticated Daesh media. A counterattack in the form of a trial broadcast on mainstream media could correct the extremist ideas of disaffected Muslim youth, like the teenagers I met in Egypt’s jails being psychologically radicalized at the hands of skilled extremist ideologues.
According to Clooney, to see those Daesh monsters in such court proceedings requires that Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Al Abadi send a letter to the UN requesting an investigation.
“There’s already a resolution drafted and ready,” she said, “And if Iraq just sends the letter, then there will be a vote.”
One must wonder what the hold up is since Iraq is fighting Daesh in a wrenching war to reclaim its sovereignty.
Clooney has already moved mountains when she lobbied Germany to authorize the issuance of an arrest warrant against a Daesh commander who is allegedly responsible for the sexual enslavement of Yazidi women.
Nadia Murad, now living safely in Germany and nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, may be free but the 3,000 Yazidi women in Daesh captivity are still fighting for their lives and yearning for justice.
Daesh justifies this killing and raping spree as fair game against the “kufar,” non-Muslim people such as Yazidis, Jews and Christians.