Belgium investigates 13 suspects tied to ISIS Yazidi genocide

The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office has 13 open cases involving Belgian suspects accused of participating in the genocide of Yazidis. Attacks were carried out by the terrorist organisation Islamic State (ISIS) in northern Iraq in 2014. This information was confirmed by Justice minister Paul Van Tigchelt in a statement to Sudinfo on Friday.

"These are long and complex procedures, with many requests for international legal assistance, which require travel by investigators and magistrates," Van Tigchelt said.

The federal prosecutor’s office handles these cases and has a team of five magistrates. Their workload is extensive, as they also investigate crimes committed by Belgian soldiers abroad and cases of international corruption within the EU.

Atrocities committed

The Yazidi genocide in August 2014 was one of the darkest chapters of ISIS’s reign of terror. Over two weeks, ISIS militants invaded the Sinjar region of Iraq with the intent to eradicate the Yazidi community. Thousands of Yazidi men and elderly women were executed, while children and women were subjected to slavery, torture and sexual violence.

Approximately 400,000 Yazidis fled to neighbouring Kurdistan, and tens of thousands sought refuge on Mount Sinjar. Those unable to escape were either killed or captured and subjected to abuse, including forced labour, conscription, torture and systemic rape. More than 6,000 Yazidi women and children were captured, with nearly 2,800 still missing today.

In 2023, Belgium and the Netherlands joined forces to establish a joint investigation team to target crimes against Yazidi people in Syria and Iraq.

^{​Iraqi Yazidi women hold pictures of victims and missing relatives during a ceremony in Chamishko camp, marking the 10th anniversary of the Yazidi genocide on 3 August 2024 © PHOTO ISMAEL ADNAN/ SOPA VIA ZUMA}