French ISIS Member Convicted of Genocide Against Yazidis

For the first time, a court in France has convicted a member of the Islamic State for crimes of genocide committed against the Yazidi minority in Iraq and Syria. 

Sabri Essid was born in France and left in 2014 to join ISIS as it swept into Iraq's Sinjar Mountains, massacring the men, abducting the boys and enslaving the women and girls. 

In a courtroom in Paris this month, survivors testified to being sold, raped and starved. 

After a five day trial, Essid was found guilty of being part of a criminal network that repeatedly bought and resold a large number of Yazidi victims. He was sentenced to life in prison in absentia as he was believed to be killed in 2018. 

Yazidi leaders praised the court’s ruling, but admitted much more needs to be done. Many Yazidis are still displaced, and more than 2,500 remain missing. 

“Our genocide is still ongoing,” said Pari Ibrahim, Executive Director of the Free Yezidi Foundation. “The impact that it has had on our community will go on forever.”