Slavery was practiced in the areas controlled by IS. In slave markets in the caliphate, women and children were sold to members of the terrorist group. The women were raped and used as sex slaves and for housework. Children were also exploited for slave labour. Professor Brynjar Lia at the University of Oslo says that the extent of slavery under IS’s rule in Syria and Iraq was extensive. – It is assumed that there are several thousand people involved. It was an extensive logistical and administrative process around the capture, transport and sale of slaves, says Lia to news. Professor of Middle Eastern studies at the University of Oslo, Brynjar Lia, has been an expert in several criminal cases against Norwegian foreign fighters. Photo: Berit Roald / NTB Most of the slaves were women and girls from the Yezidi minority, but other non-Muslims were also used as slaves, says Lia. The female prisoners of war were called sabaya. – They could be used as slaves in the homes. It was mainly the men who had these slaves, but the women could in principle also own a slave, Lia elaborated in Dagsnytt 18. Now PST is investigating whether the two sisters who were brought home to Norway at the end of March had slaves while they lived in the terrorist caliphate, or whether they were part of the religious police of IS. – It would be natural to seek to clarify whether this has been the case for any of these accused, says police attorney Terje Nedrebø Michelsen to news. – Are there any indications that this has been the case? The picture is from the school in Kojo, which is located in northern Iraq. IS gathered all women, men and children in the school. The men were shot and killed and young women were taken as slaves by IS. Photo: Sidsel Wold / news – I can’t go into exactly that. Then I go into too much detail in investigations, so I don’t want to comment on that right now, Michelsen told news at PST’s press conference after the sisters had returned. Geir Lippestad and Hilde Firman Fjellså defend the two sisters, who are charged with participation in a terrorist organisation. – As far as we know, there is no information about this, says Lippestad to news. He is the main defender for the eldest sister (29), while Fjellså is the main defender for the youngest (25). – Overall, there is no information in the case that would indicate that, Fjellså answers questions about whether the sisters had slaves in Syria. The charge against the women today is that they “by, among other things, being the spouse of an IS foreign fighter and doing housework, contributed to the establishment and maintenance of IS”. The women deny criminal guilt. To survey the sisters’ roles in Syria It is also known that IS had a religious police, in which women also participated. news has previously interviewed a woman who was a member of the morality police. She told, among other things, that she had whipped a woman for wearing red shoes. According to a report written by Professor Lia, it appears that visiting women from Europe participated in the morality police, but the extent is not known. Police prosecutor Kathrine Tonstad tells news that it is important to survey what the women have done and not done in Syria. – We do not have the definitive answer yet. We have an idea about that, based on the evidence we have from before, but it will be central to interrogate the accused so that they come forward with their story, says the police attorney. The interrogations of the women began this week. PST does not want to say whether slavery has been an issue. – We do not want to comment on the content of the interviews, but can confirm that this is still a topic we want to have clarified, says senior advisor Eirik Veum in PST to news on Saturday. Police prosecutor Terje Nedrebø Michelsen and Kathrine Tonstad during a press conference about the women accused of terrorism. The two lead the investigation. Photo: Olav Døvik / news Professor: – Important to investigate In Germany, the Supreme Court recently ruled that a German IS woman must be punished more severely after being involved in the death of a 5-year-old Yesidi girl. The German woman and her husband had bought the girl and her mother. In August 2015, the child died, after being chained outdoors in the scorching sun. The woman was sentenced to 10 years in prison for crimes against humanity and for participation in IS. Terje Einarsen is professor of international law at the University of Oslo and chairman of ICJ Norway. He says that in practice there are not many opportunities to prosecute the crimes against the Yezidis. Professor Terje Einarsen at the University of Oslo. One of the possibilities is to prosecute its own citizens, as Germany has done. – It is always important to investigate and get a court settlement with very serious crimes. When it comes to the Yezidis in particular, there is broad international agreement that they have been subjected to a genocide, says Einarsen to news. Therefore, the investigation should be broad enough to reveal whether Norwegian citizens have been involved in slavery, says the professor. He also says that it will be even more important to investigate people in IS with greater responsibility for slavery than IS women who return with children. – PST says it is natural to clarify whether the two Norwegian citizens who have returned have been involved in any crimes against the Yesdi. Do you think it is an important task? – Yes, it is, both for PST and for the special prosecuting authority to consider whether to proceed with investigating whether there may be grounds for prosecution for war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide, says Einarsen. He clarifies that the IS women must have had a certain choice of action and were not forced upon the slave by their husband or others. Human trafficking also a topic A central topic for PST is also to investigate whether the sisters have been exposed to human trafficking. Before Christmas, the Supreme Court concluded that another Norwegian IS woman had been exposed to human trafficking for large parts of her stay in the IS-controlled areas, which contributed to the punishment being reduced. Lawyer Fjellså says this is very important to clarify. – For us, it is important that PST thoroughly investigates whether they have been exposed to coercion or human trafficking, says the defender to news. Lawyers Geir Lippestad and Hilde Firman Fjellså have been appointed as defenders for the sisters. Here they were pictured at Oslo Airport after the women from Bærum had returned to Norway.
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PST investigates whether the sisters had slaves in Syria – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
