An Iraqi court has sentenced to death Asma Mohammed, a wife of slain ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, for detaining Yazidi women. The judiciary announced the verdict on Wednesday, citing her involvement with the terrorist group ISIS and the detention of Yazidi women in her home, who were later kidnapped by ISIS fighters in Sinjar, northern Iraq.
Asma Mohammed was brought back to Iraq after being detained in Turkey, according to anonymous judicial sources. The Karkh (west Baghdad) criminal court issued the death sentence, emphasizing her role in the terrorist group.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a U.S. operation in northwestern Syria in October 2019. He had declared a caliphate across parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014, during which ISIS systematically killed thousands of Yazidi men and forced women into sexual slavery.
Iraqi courts have handed down numerous death sentences and life prison terms for ISIS membership. Over 500 foreign men and women have been convicted of joining ISIS.
In February, Iraq announced the repatriation of al-Baghdadi’s family from Turkey, coinciding with an interview on Al Arabiya with Asma Mohammed. Turkey had arrested her in June 2018, identifying her as Asma Fawzi Mohammed al-Qubaysi.