Daesh Faces Justice: Key Milestones in Holding Daesh Perpetrators Accountable for Their Crimes


Daesh’s heinous crimes have destroyed thousands of lives. Bringing the perpetrators of those crimes to justice is critical to the Coalition’s mission. From recognition of its genocidal acts against Yazidi communities to the prosecution of Foreign Terrorist Fighters, Coalition partners are working to ensure that #DaeshFacesJustice.


2015
09 September
1
09 September 2015
A Lebanese court sentences Danish national Araby Ibrahim to three years in prison for joining Daesh.
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18 March
2016
2
18 March 2016
US Secretary of State John Kerry officially recognises a genocide against Yazidi and Christian communities. It is the first time the United States of America has formally recognised a genocide since recognising the 2004 Darfur genocide.
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2017
9 August
3
9 August 2017
The Government of Iraq calls upon the international community to join them in their efforts to hold Daesh accountable for their crimes in Iraq.
21 September
2017
4
21 September 2017
UN Resolution 2379 (2017) mandates the Secretary-General to establish a team to assist Iraq in gathering evidence of potential war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed by Daesh. This team would become known as the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Daesh (UNITAD).
2017
17 October
5
17 October 2017
A Jordanian court sentenced eight Daesh members to up to 15 years in prison for promoting extremist ideas and conducting terrorist attacks.
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July
2018
6
July 2018
Husnain Rashid, a British Daesh supporter, is convicted in the UK for encouraging attacks on high-profile targets.
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2019
29 January
7
29 January 2019
The Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) sign a Framework Agreement to centralise information collected from the families of Daesh victims, including blood samples, to facilitate their identification.
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29 March
2019
8
29 March 2019
Jawad Bendaoud, also known as the "landlord of Daesh," is convicted in France for providing lodging to terrorists involved in the 2015 Paris attacks. Bendaoud's trial highlighted the network of support that facilitated Daesh operatives in carrying out their atrocities, leading to further convictions.
2019
30 March
9
30 March 2019
Egypt sentences eight Daesh members to life in prison and eight others to 15 years for their involvement in the 2017 suicide bomb attacks on churches in Alexandria.
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August
2020
10
August 2020
Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, is given a life sentence with a minimum of 55 years in prison.
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2020
October
12
October 2020
Two members of the so-called Daesh ‘Beatles’ group of FTFs, Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, are extradited to the United States to stand trial for their crimes. Both men are accused of participating in the brutal killings of American and European hostages, including journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig. Their trial marks a significant milestone in the international effort to hold Daesh members accountable for their atrocities.
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May
2021
13
May 2021
A Spanish court convicts three men who assisted the perpetrators of the 2017 Barcelona attacks, sentencing them to 53 years in jail.
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2021
30 November
14
30 November 2021
The Frankfurt Higher Regional Court sentences Taha Al-Jumailly, a former Daesh fighter, to life imprisonment for acts of genocide and crimes against humanity.
Link
December
2021
15
December 2021
Mohammed Khalifa, narrator of over 10 Daesh propaganda videos, pleads guilty to conspiring to provide material support to terrorism resulting in death. Prosecutors ask for life in prison.
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2022
June
16
June 2022
A French court finds 20 men guilty for their roles in coordinating a terrorist attack in Paris in November 2015.
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27 July
2022
17
27 July 2022
The Higher Regional Court of Hamburg convicts German Daesh member Jalda A. of aiding and abetting genocide as well as of crimes against humanity and war crimes for the enslavement and abuse of a young Yazidi woman, “M”. Jalda A. is sentenced to five years and six months in prison.
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2023
December
18
December 2022
The UN trains Iraqi judges in international criminal law to facilitate the conviction of Daesh members in Iraqi courts.
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February
2023
19
February 2023
A court in Austria finds four guilty for their role in a Daesh-claimed attack in November 2020. Of the four, two received life sentences while the others received sentences totalling 19 and 20 years.
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2023
23 March
20
23 March 2023
Sayfullo Saipov, an emigrant from Uzbekistan living in the USA, is sentenced to life in prison for a 2017 terror attack in New York City.
June
2023
21
June 2023
The German Higher Regional Court of Koblenz convicts Nadine K., a female member of Daesh, to nine years in prison for war crimes and helping her husband commit war crimes.
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2023
July-September
22
July-September 2023
A Belgian court convicts French citizen Salah Abdeslam and Belgian-Moroccan Mohamed Abrini for Daesh bombings in 2016 that killed 32 people. Abdeslam was previously found guilty of another attack in 2015.
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August
2023
23
August 2023
The UK Government formally acknowledges atrocities committed against the Yazidi community by Daesh in Iraq as genocidal.
Link
2023
August
24
August 2023
In August, a Munich court increases the sentence of a German woman known as Jennifer W., from 10 to 14 years for enslaving a Yazidi child and letting her die of thirst.
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28 September
2023
25
28 September 2023
A Lebanese military court sentenced Palestinian Daesh official Imad Yassin to 160 years in prison for conducting attacks on Lebanese security forces and planning attacks on a Lebanese television station headquarters.
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2023
November
26
October 2023
Human rights NGO Nadia’s Initiative and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) inaugurate a memorial to the Yazidi victims of Daesh in Sinjar.
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November
2023
27
November 2023
A UK Court sentences Daesh member Aine Davis to eight years in prison for multiple crimes, including funding terrorism.
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2024
19 January
28
19 January 2024
Two Daesh members, Yaser Ameen and Ammar Ameen, are sentenced to 10 and 16 years in jail for membership of a terrorist organisation and crimes against civilians in a Portuguese court using evidence provided by the Iraqi Judiciary and UNITAD.
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