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Amnesty International – IS Using Captured Women As Sex Slaves

Captured Yazidi girls in Iraq are killing themselves to escape rape and torture at the hands of Isis militants holding them prisoner.

Hundreds of women and children were captured during the group’s bloody sweep through northern Iraq earlier this year and have since been trafficked as sex slaves , forced into marriage and imprisoned.

Victims who managed to escape told Amnesty International that many Yazidi girls killed themselves after losing hope of being saved.

A 20-year-old survivor, called Luna, said she was held with 20 girls as young as 10 in the Isis-controlled city of Mosul when they were told to dress up.

“One day we were given clothes that looked like dance costumes and were told to bathe and wear those clothes,” she added. “Jilan killed herself in the bathroom. She cut her wrists and hanged herself. She was very beautiful.

“I think she knew that she was going to be taken away by a man and that is why she killed herself.”

Another woman, 27-year-old Wafa, said she and her sister attempted suicide while imprisoned in Mosul after the man holding them gave them the choice of marrying him and his brother or being sold as slaves.

“At night we tried to strangle ourselves with our scarves,” she told Amnesty. “Two girls who were held with us woke up and stopped us and then stayed awake to watch over us.

“When they fell asleep at 5am we tried again, and again they woke up and stopped us. I could not speak for several days after that.”

Relatives of girls who managed to escape fear that the trauma will never leave them, reporting panic attacks and depression.

The grandfather of a 16-year-old girl who was raped in Isis captivity said: “She is very sad and quiet all the time. She does not smile anymore and seems not to care about anything. I worry that she may try to kill herself, I don’t let her out of my sight.”

Amnesty interviewed 42 women and girls for its report, “Escape from Hell”, which is being released today.

It chronicles the torture, rape and sexual violence suffered by women from the Yazidi minority. Women who converted to Islam were forced to marry Isis militants and those maintaining their faith have been trafficked as sex slaves, abused and imprisoned.

Videos have emerged online of horrifying “slave auctions” of girls in Mosul and Isis members have boasted of the abductions, justifying them by calling Yazidis “apostates”.

Thousands of people from the religious minority, who are viciously targeted by the Sunni extremist group because they are considered heretics, were driven from their homes in Sinjar by the Isis advance in August.

Hundreds were killed in raids on towns and more died of thirst or starvation after fleeing up the remote Mount Sinjar.

Randa, a 16-year-old girl from a village near the mountain, was abducted with scores of her family members including her heavily-pregnant mother and given to a man twice her age who raped her.

“Da’esh [Islamic State] has ruined our lives … What will happen to my family? I don’t know if I will ever see them again.”

One woman called Alba, 19, was visibly pregnant with her second child when she was kidnapped with her son but Isis showed no mercy.

“I had my little boy with me and my pregnancy was very visible already but one of the guards chose me to be his wife,” she told Amnesty, adding that the man threatened to send her to Syria if she resisted.

Some Yazidi girls forced into marriage have reported being taken to the homes of Isis fighters’ families and even meeting their wives and children. Some received further abuse, while others made friends with their captor’s wives.

Several girls held by foreign fighters told Amnesty International their families helped them escape and one 13-year-old girl, who was held with her toddler sister, said her captor did not abuse them but instead sent them straight home to their family.

But even those escaping have a bleak prospect to return to, with the loss of dozens of killed or captured relatives, and home towns and villages overrun by Isis.

The trauma of survivors of sexual violence is further exacerbated by the stigma surrounding rape. Survivors feel that their “honour” and that of their families has been tarnished and fear that their standing in society will be diminished as a result.

Donatella Rovera, who spoke to more than 40 former captives in northern Iraq for Amnesty International, said Isis were using rape as a weapon in attacks “amounting to crimes against humanity”.

“The physical and psychological toll of the horrifying sexual violence these women have endured is catastrophic,” she added. “Many of them have been tortured and treated as chattel. Even those who have managed to escape remain deeply traumatised.”

She called on Kurdistan Regional Government, UN and humanitarian organisations to ensure they were reaching everyone who needed support.

Source: www.independent.co.uk

IS Raih Untung Jual Organ Manusia Untuk Biayai Aktiviti Keganasan

DAMSYIK: Kumpulan militan Negara Islam di Iraq dan Syria (ISIS) dipercayai meraih keuntungan besar dengan menjual organ manusia dengan hasilnya digunakan bagi membiayai aktiviti keganasan di seluruh Timur Tengah.

Kumpulan itu dikesan mendapatkan dana sehingga AS$2 juta ($2.63 juta) setahun daripada pelbagai sumber, termasuk pengeluaran minyak, pemerdagangan manusia dan penyeludupan dadah.

Namun, sejak beberapa bulan lalu militan ISIS menggunakan khidmat doktor asing bagi mengeluarkan organ manusia – bukan saja daripada anggota mereka yang mati, malah daripada tawanan hidup, termasuk kanak-kanak dari seluruh Iraq dan Syria.

Difahamkan, organ juga diambil daripada militan yang terkorban, mangsa cedera yang ditinggalkan atau individu yang diculik.

Perkara itu didedahkan portal berita al-Monitor yang berpangkalan di Amerika Syarikat.

Sumber portal itu dikenal pasti sebagai pakar telinga, hidung dan tekak, Encik Siruwan al-Mosuli.

Menurut Encik Siruwan, pegawai kanan ISIS melantik doktor asing bagi menjalankan sistem pemerdagangan organ meluas dari hospital di Mosul yang di bawah pentadbiran ISIS.

Katanya, pulangan perdagangan organ manusia amat menguntungkan.

Disebabkan itu, ISIS menubuhkan bahagian khas bagi mengendalikan penyeludupan organ yang bertanggungjawab menjual jantung, hati dan buah pinggang manusia di pasaran gelap antarabangsa, katanya.

“Saya mengesyaki ada sesuatu tidak kena apabila melihat ramai pakar bedah Arab dan asing diambil bekerja, tetapi dilarang berinteraksi dengan doktor tempatan. Desas-desus kemudian mengatakan mereka terbabit dalam aktiviti penjualan organ.

“Pembedahan dilakukan di dalam hospital sebelum organ diperlukan dipindahkan segera melalui rangkaian pemerdagangan manusia,” kata laporan itu.

Bagaimanapun, maklumat mengenai penjualan organ akhirnya bocor, lapor Press TV.

Assyrian International News Agency pula melaporkan, kebanyakan organ diseludup keluar dari Syria dan Iraq ke negara jiran seperti Arab Saudi atau Turkey untuk dijual kepada kumpulan jenayah yang kemudian mendapatkan pembeli dari seluruh dunia.

Tindakan menjual organ manusia itu merupakan salah satu cara bagi membiayai aktiviti keganasan kumpulan mereka.

Menurutnya lagi, pembedahan dilakukan di hospital dan organ mayat diedarkan segera melalui rangkaian khusus dalam pemerdagangan organ manusia.

Source: www.beritaharian.sg

When Children Become Targets Of Terrorists

Last week, Taleban terrorists stormed an army-run school in Peshawar, Pakistan, killing at least 132 children and committing one of the deadliest attacks against children in recent years.

The incident adds to a decade of terrorist activities which are becoming more cold-blooded and wanton than ever before and are particularly targeted at children, say historians and criminology experts.

These innocent lives, they say, are regarded by every culture as worth protecting, which makes them the prime targets of modern-era terrorists who are out to make the most impact possible with their acts of violence.

“Terrorists are looking for something of value that they can strike… targeting children is something that really hurts,” said Professor Emerita of History Anna Geifman of Boston University, who is also senior researcher at the political studies department at Bar Ilan University in Israel.

“Terrorists want to show that they are willing to do anything so… we should take them seriously,” added Professor Laura Dugan from the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland.

Previously, terrorists “had their own code of how to behave”, said criminal justice administration professor Gus Martin of California State University.

American terrorists, he said, would plant bombs and dial ahead so buildings could be evacuated, or Pakistani hijackers would free captives before blowing up the plane.

But that morality began to shift in the 1990s, especially with the appearance of groups like Al-Qaeda; and on Sept 11, “a new era had dawned”, said Prof Martin.

“Now the moral compass has completely changed – many of these groups have no hesitation in killing as many as possible.”

Prof Geifman, who has written a book on terrorism called Death Orders, added that after the 9/11 attacks, terrorists had to look for the next “sensational and impressive” act of violence, and that was when they turned to children.

One of the most notorious acts of terrorism targeted at children was the school attack and hostage-taking in Beslan, Russia in 2004.

Rebels took over the school for three days and held 1,200 students, teachers and parents hostage in the school gym. They turned it into a death camp, denying children food and water.

Many died when a bomb was detonated in the building, while others were shot by the rebels as they tried to escape.

According to reports, more than 700 were wounded and more than 300 died – 186 of them children.

Prof Dugan said attacks on educational institutions “started increasing dramatically” that year. And in the years after, it “becomes clear that schools that are targeted have young children attending them”.

The proliferation of child victims could also have to do with terrorist groups copying each other, said experts. Prof Dugan said such trends have emerged before: “Suicide attacks have spread across groups since the early 1980s… another example is airline hijacking in the late 1960s and early 1970s.”

In the case of Boko Haram, the terrorist group that kidnapped nearly 300 girls in Nigeria in April – and another batch of at least 185 a week ago – the attacks are a statement against Western education and the education of women. It believes that women should be at home raising children and looking after their husbands instead of getting educated.

Some of these women are “kidnapped and sold into slavery”, said Prof Martin.

Another explanation for targeting children is to make a “counterculture” statement, said Prof Geifman.

“Whatever is precious in the other culture, they will try to negate and destroy.”

She said that many terrorist groups, including the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda, have a culture of revering death, whereas society in general “chooses life”.

When they kill children, “they destroy the most precious symbol of life because there is nothing more alive than a child”.

Many of these groups also believe killing these children is done with the blessing of their god.

Said Prof Martin: “They feel if they do god’s work they will be clean and god favours this type of behaviour.”

While governments work to stop these acts of terror, the man in the street also has a responsibility to stand up to such acts, said experts. Prof Geifman believes that while children are the immediate targets, ultimately the terrorist group is signalling to the public at large that the group should be feared.

“We are the real targets,” said Prof Geifman. “The terrorists are talking to us.”

But instead of avoiding school or work after an attack, life should go on, she urged.

“They want to see every one of us act as a hostage… We should do the opposite and not succumb to fear.”

Source: www.straitstimes.com

Redefining The Moderate Contemporary Muslim

Muslim religious elites have repeatedly been told to categorically condemn the Sunni militant group Islamic State, with Pope Francis being the latest to make such a call. During a three-day visit to Turkey, he told Prime Minister Recep Erdogan that Muslim politicians, ulama (religious scholars) and academics should repudiate violence. He expressed his concern after an escalation of attacks on minority Christians living in Iraq.

The Pope’s concern is valid. However, it raises several questions. First, has Muslims’ condemnation of the Islamic State so far been insufficient? Sheikh Ahmad Tayyeb, the rector of Al-Azhar University, a world-renowned institute for Islamic studies, has openly condemned the militant group. He was joined by the Egyptian grand mufti, Shawqi Allam, and Al-Azhar graduate students who also expressed their disapproval towards the terrorist group. King Abdullah Hussein of Jordan has even compared fighting the Islamic State to battling in World War III.

Similarly, Australian Muslim ulama’s condemnation of the recent Sydney Lindt Chocolate Cafe hostage crisis was immediate, while the event was unfolding. The hostage-taker, Man Haron Monis, had forced two hostages to press a black flag — similar to the Islamic State’s — against the cafe’s window. This shows that for many ulama, any form of association with the militant group is deplorable.

Second, will repeated condemnation of Islamic State militants change the situation for the better? On the one hand, Muslim ulama’s condemnation has so far fallen on the militants’ deaf ears. On the other hand, they are “deafening” to Muslims who have repeatedly opposed the group.

How many times do Muslims have to say the Islamic State does not represent Islam, the Quran and Islamic traditions before they are believed? Moreover, condemning the group alone does not generate a better understanding of its emergence if the social, political and economic conditions that gave rise to its struggle are neglected. As Sheikh Ahmad Tayyed correctly points out: “The emergence of the Islamic State is a natural result of political marginalisation in Iraq.”

Asking Muslims to keep condemning the group also neglects the many commendable efforts to tackle extremism on the ground, including in South-east Asia.

The region’s Muslim leaders who attended the recent MABIMS meeting — an annual meeting of Islamic religious ministers from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei —criticised the Islamic State’s use of the faith to recruit Muslims to its cause.

To be sure, South-east Asia has been a hotbed of terrorist activity as much as the Middle East. Some South-east Asian Muslim youth have also joined the group’s struggle, thinking it is a form of “jihad” or holy war. At least 40 Malaysians have been linked to the Islamic State struggle and, most recently, the government suspected some of the country’s military men to be sympathetic to the group. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak recently tabled a White Paper in Parliament recommending a new terrorism law to be passed to tackle the Islamic State issue.

The Singapore Muslim community has also stepped up efforts to prevent Muslims from being enticed into the group. The Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG), which counselled Jemaah Islamiyah terrorists, has reminded Singaporean Muslims not to sympathise with the group’s struggle. Recently, it distributed leaflets entitled The Fallacies Of ISIS Islamic Caliphate as part of its ongoing efforts to develop better understanding of Islam.

The RRG also indicated the militant group has misrepresented Islam, indicating the group’s struggle to establish an Islamic state is misleading and serves only as an excuse to attract others to its cause. The RRG will receive S$250,000 over the next five years from the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore to support its de-radicalisation of terrorists.

MODERATES IN A MODERN WORLD

Nevertheless, having Muslims condemning the militant group alone does not make them moderate. It is easy to find some using Quranic verses or Prophetic traditions to denounce the group, but it is difficult to alter how they approach religious texts in other aspects, especially when they continue to harbour distrust towards the modern world.

This group seeks to replace the existing world order with what they perceive to be an Islamic one. The call for alternative Islamic order can manifest in violent and non-violent means. Today, we hear some Muslims pushing Islamic development, Islamic currency, Islamic cars and Islamic environmentalism, and the more extreme ones calling for an Islamic state and Islamic Caliphate.

Moderate Islam is not linked to only condemnation of the Islamic State. I see a moderate as one who seeks to live universal Islamic values in line with modern-day realities. One cannot be a moderate if one is calling for institutions that are not in sync with contemporary realities.

For example, the call for an Islamic Caliphate does not resonate in a world where empires have collapsed. Muslims now live in post-Westphalian states, which do not differentiate citizens based on religion, ethnicity or culture, making the Islamic state versus non-Islamic state dichotomy irrelevant. All citizens are equal in the eyes of the law and cannot live under a separate, exclusive system.

The challenge for Muslims now is to live in contemporary, multicultural societies as good, law-abiding citizens, who remain committed to Islamic values of justice, equality, freedom of expression and the right to privacy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Norshahril Saat is a PhD candidate at the Department of Political and Social Change, Australian National University. He researches on Indonesian and Malaysian politics.

Source: www.todayonline.com

15 Year Old Girl Intent On Joining IS Stopped At Heathrow Airport

LONDON (AFP) – London police stopped a plane on the runway at Heathrow Airport to remove a 15-year-old girl intent on joining Islamist fighters in Syria, a report said Wednesday.

Counter-terrorism officers rushed to Europe’s busiest airport and stopped the plane, which was bound for Istanbul, the London Evening Standard newspaper reported.

They ordered the plane to turn around as it taxied down the runway.

The girl, from Tower Hamlets in east London, had secretly saved up to buy a ticket.

The incident happened earlier this month. The girl has returned to her family, the Standard reported.

“On Dec 6, police received reports of a 15-year-old girl from Tower Hamlets missing from home,” a Scotland Yard spokesman said.

“Police were able to locate her and she has since returned home safely.”

Heathrow Airport declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

The Standard said the incident would heighten concern about the number of girls and young women travelling to Syria and Iraq.

An estimated 500 Britons have travelled abroad to become Islamic militants, many with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) extremist group.

In August, Britain’s terror threat level was raised to severe, the second-highest of five levels, meaning that a terror attack is considered highly likely.

It came against a backdrop of increasing concerns over aspiring British militants travelling to Iraq and Syria to learn terror “tradecraft”.

Several teenagers are among those who have gone abroad to join fighters with ISIS and other extremist groups.