Agency Report –
The trial of an Iraqi couple accused of membership in the Islamic State and the enslavement, sexual abuse and forced conversion of two Yezidi girls began in Germany on Monday.
The 43-year-old man and his 29-year-old wife face charges at the Munich Higher Regional Court that include genocide, human trafficking and crimes against humanity.
Before the indictment could be read out in court, however, the trial was suspended for 45 minutes as the man claimed he was too ill to testify due to being mistreated in pre-trial detention.
The man alleged that he was “beaten up,” drugged and “locked up for months” in a cell in the basement of the Augsburg-Gablingen prison, without access to personal belongings or contact with his lawyer.
The court was not previously aware of the allegations, which would be investigated, court spokesman Laurent Lafleur said. The defendant was examined by a doctor to determine his fitness to stand trial.
The Augsburg-Gablingen facility has made headlines in recent months for the alleged mistreatment of inmates.
The accused were detained in Bavaria in April 2024 and have been in custody since.
