A German court has sentenced an Iraqi man to life imprisonment and his former partner to nine and a half years in prison after finding them guilty of enslaving, abusing, and torturing two Yazidi girls while members of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq.

The defendants, identified under German privacy laws as Twana H.S. and Asia R.A., were convicted of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, child sexual abuse, and aiding and abetting these offenses. The woman received a juvenile sentence due to legal provisions applicable to her case.

According to the court, the couple purchased two Yazidi girls, aged five and 12, as slaves in Iraq during ISIS's campaign against the Yazidi community. The victims were held captive for years, forced into labor, subjected to severe physical abuse and torture, and eventually handed over to other ISIS members.

The court found that the male defendant sexually abused the children, while his former partner facilitated and supported the abuse.

"The monstrous violence is so far removed from any sense of humanity that it seems unreal," a representative of Germany's Federal Public Prosecutor's Office said during the proceedings.

One of the survivors attended the hearing and broke down in tears as the verdict was announced. Presiding Judge Philipp Stoll read testimony from one of the victims, who recalled that "even dogs were held in higher regard than we were."

Judge Stoll also noted that the ruling marks the first conviction in Germany for the crime of forced religious conversion, after the court found that the defendants had compelled the Yazidi girls to abandon their faith and convert to Islam.

The couple had been living in Germany before they were arrested in Bavaria in April 2024. During the trial, the 30-year-old female defendant apologized for her actions, while her former husband exercised his right to remain silent.