ERBIL — Sweden and France have launched joint efforts to prosecute the members of the Islamic State (IS) over crimes they committed against the Kurdish Yezidi community.
The European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) is coordinating the investigations to help the countries share information and evidence more swiftly in order to bring those responsible for the crimes to justice.
“The main aim of the JIT will be to identify FTFs [foreign terrorist fighters] who were involved in core international crimes, such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, primarily perpetrated against members of the Yazidi minority during the armed conflict in Syria and Iraq," read a statement released by Eurojust on Friday.
The authorities involved in the joint investigative team will cooperate with the United Nations Investigative Team to promote accountability for crimes committed by Da’esh/Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (UNITAD) pursuant to its mandate.
The new team will reduce the need for multiple interviews of the same victims who have experienced traumatic events at the hands of IS.
“The investigative efforts of the JIT [Joint Investigative Team] will be of added value to the judiciary in other EU Member States or third countries, who want to end the impunity of FTFs involved in core international crimes such as slavery or sexual violence against members of the Yezidi community,” reads the statement by Eurojust.
Kurdish Yezidis were subject to horrific crimes by the Islamic State (IS) when the extremist group overran Sinjar in August 2014. After thousands of men were executed immediately, a total of 6,417 Yezidis were abducted by IS, nearly half of whom are still missing.
In May 2021 a UN investigations team ruled, "there is clear and convincing evidence that the crimes" perpetrated by IS "against the Yazidi people clearly constituted genocide".