With no confirmed body, Belgian court tries Sammy Djedou in absentia for ISIS-era crimes, relying on NGO evidence and victim testimonies to seek justice.
(BRUSSELS) – A Brussels criminal court has embarked on an unprecedented trial, prosecuting a Belgian ISIS fighter for genocide against the Yazidi people, despite the defendant being officially reported dead for eight years.
The case against Sammy Djedou, presumed killed in a 2016 U.S. airstrike in Syria, represents Belgium’s first legal reckoning with the mass crimes committed against the Yazidi religious minority. With no formal confirmation of his death, authorities are proceeding with an in-absentia prosecution.
Djedou faces charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, including the systematic rape and enslavement of Yazidi women and girls. The case is built largely on evidence painstakingly gathered by journalists and non-governmental organizations in the aftermath of the Islamic State’s territorial defeat.
“The institutionalized the sexual enslavement of Yazidi women,” state prosecutors argued, framing it as a core part of the ISIS economy and a key component of its genocidal campaign.
Three Yazidi women, two of whom were minors at the time of the alleged crimes, are central to the case. Their testimonies, expected during the week-long trial, will provide a harrowing account of the persecution that the United Nations has formally classified as genocide.
Djedou, a Brussels native who joined ISIS in 2012, was previously sentenced to 13 years in prison in Belgium on separate terrorism charges. This new trial pushes the boundaries of international justice, seeking accountability for mass atrocities even when the accused may never be physically present in the courtroom.
