Sonia Mejri, the wife of a former leader in the Islamic State group, will appear before a French court on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, according to French radio station “RFI.”
Mejri, born in France and 35 years old, faces accusations of causing severe psychological suffering, depriving food and water, and physical violence against a teenage Yazidi girl bought by her former husband in Syria in 2015, according to the BFM channel on Wednesday, September 25.
Mejri was imprisoned after returning to France from Syria, following her testimony in trials of those accused of committing terrorist crimes.
Her former husband is Abdelnasser Benyoucef, a key figure in the external operations of the Islamic State, according to the RFI.
Her legal council Nabil Boudi condemned the charges against her during the previous investigation period before the trial. He stated that the given evidence proves she is a “convinced repentant.”
Yazidi testimony
The investigations related to Mejri were based on the testimony of an Yazidi woman who was 16 years old when Benyoucef bought her as a “slave.”
France conducted an investigation in 2016 regarding genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed against ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq and Syria since 2012.
The investigation then focused on crimes committed against both the Yazidis and Christians, as well as members of the Shaitat clan in Deir Ezzor, according to the French Counter-Terrorism Unit.
Investigators later identified the young Yazidi woman, heard by both Iraqi and French judges, and her testimony provided a “rich mine of clues,” as reported by the BFM channel.
However, several sources close to the case told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the strength of the evidence for these accusations remains limited.
First trial
According to the requests of the National Counter-Terrorism Public Office, the investigating judge ordered the trial of Benyoucef on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and collaboration with and managing a “terrorist association,” according to RFI.
The judge requested the trial of both spouses before a jury specifically formed for charges of slavery, imprisonment, torture, rape, or complicity in rape, persecution, and inhuman acts committed against the Yazidi minority.
The National Counter-Terrorism Public Office confirmed that “this will be the first trial aimed at describing terrorism and crimes against humanity.”
Who is Abdelnasser Benyoucef?
Of Algerian origin, nicknamed “Abou Mouthana,” he grew up in France and is 35 years old. He was convicted in absentia of a “failed” attack on the suburb of Villejuif south of Paris in 2015, according to the RFI.
Despite the belief that he is no longer alive, an arrest warrant was issued for him in France.
The RFI noted the belief that he was in the area of the Syrian-Iraqi border controlled by the Islamic State in 2016.
French media previously reported the allegations against Mejri on April 28 of this year.
The French Le Parisien newspaper reported that Mejri denied the accusations in an interview with French investigators on March 14, directing the charges towards her ex-husband, and confirmed that he “committed rape only once.”