Iraqi Couple Charged with War Crimes in Germany

German prosecutors have charged an Iraqi couple, Twana H.S. and Asia R.A., with enslavement, torture, and war crimes for allegedly holding two young Yazidi girls as slaves and subjecting them to severe abuse. The couple, who were arrested in Bavaria in April, are accused of being affiliated with the Islamic State between 2015 and 2017, during which they imprisoned a 5-year-old girl starting in late 2015 and a 12-year-old girl from October 2017. Reports indicate that the man repeatedly raped the girls while the woman facilitated the abuse, applying makeup to one victim. The children faced extreme physical violence and were forced to perform household chores without religious freedom. Prosecutors assert that their actions contributed to the Islamic State's campaign to destroy the Yazidi religion, as the couple allegedly transferred the victims to other IS members before leaving Syria in November 2017. These heinous acts highlight the ongoing plight of the Yazidi community, which has been heavily targeted by IS violence since 2014.