Case Note – Justice Served?: Ashwaq Haji Hamid Talo’s Confrontation and Conviction of Her Islamic State Captor

Over five years after the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group launched its genocidal attack against the Yazidi ethno-religious minority community in Sinjar, Northern Iraq, calls for ‘justice’ remain largely unanswered. While hundreds of IS members have been tried and convicted of their group affiliation, few have faced charges for crimes committed against the Yazidis. However, in March 2020, Ashwaq Haji Hamid Talo – a 20-year-old Yazidi woman – took the stand of a Baghdad courtroom and played a driving role in the prosecution and conviction of her attacker. Through examination of her case in the context of wider political and procedural concerns for trying IS members, this article highlights both the opportunities and challenges for individual victims and the wider Yazidi community to secure meaningful ‘justice’.