Germany Sues a Former IS Member Over Yazidi Kid’s Tragic Death
In a landmark case that marks Germany’s first trial of a woman who had returned from the Islamic State (IS), 27‑year‑old Jennifer Wenisch faces a potential life sentence. Prosecutors accuse her of allowing a five‑year‑old Yazidi girl to die of thirst in the desert while under the care of her husband, who had bought the Yazidi family into slavery in Mosul.
What the Trial Aims to Pin Down
- Charges include murder as a war crime, membership in a designated terrorist organization, and violating Germany’s War Weapons Control Act.
- If convicted, Wenisch could be handed a life sentence.
- Prosecutor Claudia Gorf noted this is the first female IS-joined defendant in German courts.
In the Courtroom
Wenisch arrived in the courtroom in a plain white blouse and black jacket, hair unshrouded, and seemed completely stone‑cold. She didn’t answer questions, but guarded her face with a paper folder when cameras appeared.
While the trial day was quiet, the atmosphere was charged by the presence of the victims’ families. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad, a Yazidi survivor of IS brutality, called the trial “an enormous moment” for her community. Amal Clooney, known for her high‑profile human‑rights work, represents the mother of the child but didn’t attend the opening session.
The Alleged Crime
- According to prosecutors, the Yazidi woman and child were treated like “household slaves” after being purchased by Wenisch and her husband.
- When the little girl fell ill, the husband held her outside as punishment, letting her die of dehydration under the scorching sun.
- Wenisch reportedly stood by, allegedly giving her husband a pistol to shoot the girl’s mother, and offered no rescue.
From a Simple Ex‑Student to an IS Recruit
Wenisch left school in German eighth grade, never found stable employment, and converted to Islam in 2013. She joined IS in 2014, traveling through Turkey and Syria into Iraq. In 2015 she became a member of the IS “morality police,” hunting down people who broke dress codes or smoked.
March 2016, after seeing the girl’s death, she tried to get new identity papers from the German embassy in Ankara. She was detained, extradited to Germany, and returned to Lower Saxony. Soon after she attempted to re‑join the IS, leading to a standoff in a buggy vehicle in Turkey; an FBI informant captured her conversation, ending with the call to return to the “caliphate.” She was arrested on a highway stop.
A Call for International Justice
Amal Clooney highlighted the broader aim of the trial: putting the atrocities committed against the Yazidis on the international legal radar as genocide or crimes against humanity. “This could be the first of many trials that bring ISIS to justice under international law,” she said.
The case has begun under intense security in a special court for state‑security and terrorism matters. The hearings are slated to continue until 30 September.
