Members of the Iraqi forensic team exhume the bodies of soldiers killed by ISIS from a mass grave in the compound of the former president Saddam Hussein in Tikrit on April 6, 2015. Reuters
Members of the Iraqi forensic team exhume the bodies of soldiers killed by ISIS from a mass grave in the compound of the former president Saddam Hussein in Tikrit on April 6, 2015. Reuters
Members of the Iraqi forensic team exhume the bodies of soldiers killed by ISIS from a mass grave in the compound of the former president Saddam Hussein in Tikrit on April 6, 2015. Reuters
Members of the Iraqi forensic team exhume the bodies of soldiers killed by ISIS from a mass grave in the compound of the former president Saddam Hussein in Tikrit on April 6, 2015. Reuters

More than 300 terrorists identified in breakthrough for ISIS genocide prosecutions


Nicky Harley
  • English
  • Arabic

The UN has taken a major step forward in its bid to work with the Iraqi government to accelerate ISIS genocide prosecutions.

In a crunch meeting this week, the UN’s head of ISIS war crimes, British lawyer Karim Khan, QC, met Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi to discuss the next steps in the investigations.

Mr Khan's team has now identified nearly 350 terrorists behind the genocide of the Yazidis and other groups.

Using more than two million pieces of data from mobile phones, investigators have been able to place the ISIS members at the scenes of the atrocities.

Mr Khan said the team is at a “pivotal moment” in its work.

Despite the evidence, a major stumbling block to prosecutions has been Iraq’s legal system, which does not have a law covering the crime of genocide.

Now Mr Al Kadhimi, who was elected in May, has offered his support and “stressed the importance” of passing a law covering genocide to “strengthen national unity and prevent the recurrence of such atrocities”, his office said.

It comes a month after the exhumation of two mass Yazidi graves began.

The UN’s Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by ISIS, or Unitad, agreed in the meeting to help the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights catalogue evidence relating to ISIS’s crimes.

“Mr Al Kazemi expressed his support for Unitad’s work and the need to ensure justice for all Iraqis,” the agency tweeted after the meeting.

Iraqi Yazidis take part in a ceremony during the exhumation of a mass-grave of hundreds of Yazidis killed by ISIS in the northern Iraqi village of Kojo in Sinjar. AFP / Zaid AL-OBEIDI
Iraqi Yazidis take part in a ceremony during the exhumation of a mass-grave of hundreds of Yazidis killed by ISIS in the northern Iraqi village of Kojo in Sinjar. AFP / Zaid AL-OBEIDI

“They agreed Unitad would help to enhance IHCHR’s capacity to archive and digitise evidence held related to ISIS crimes.

"Next steps for improving information sharing to Unitad were also agreed on.

“They discussed Unitad’s progress, including its support to the government on mass grave exhumations, archiving of ISIS-related evidence and capacity building of the judiciary to prosecute ISIS perpetrators of international crimes.”

Mr Khan earlier said: “We are trying to build case files that can be properly prosecuted and adjudicated in Iraq or in third states. We have victims and survivors who are waiting for justice.

“Our commitment to the communities of Iraq will only be satisfied when justice is delivered in court, when the survivors of ISIS atrocities are able to see their abusers held accountable in accordance with the rule of law, based on incontrovertible evidence collected in line with international standards.”

The data the team has collected so far has helped to locate suspects from the summer of 2014, when extremists killed and enslaved thousands of Yazidis in northern Iraq.

Mr Khan says the records provide evidence that is admissible in court and can prove criminal responsibility “beyond reasonable doubt".

The UN team is also working with Iraqi intelligence to extract data from mobile phones and mass storage devices, including hard drives.

They were left behind when ISIS members fled during operations to dislodge them from the northern city of Mosul in 2016 and 2017.

There are more than 200 mass graves containing up to 12,000 bodies in Iraq, which are attributed to ISIS.

The extremists were defeated late in 2017 after the battle for Mosul.

In October, Iraqi experts from the Mass Graves and Medico-Legal directorates started exhumations in the mass graves left by ISIS in Solagh and Kojo, Ninewa governorate.

More than 300 relatives of missing Yazidis attended the start of the work.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed

Based: Muscat

Launch year: 2018

Number of employees: 40

Sector: Online food delivery

Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception 

JOKE'S%20ON%20YOU
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FIVE%20TRENDS%20THAT%20WILL%20SHAPE%20UAE%20BANKING
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Oppenheimer
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Profile of Udrive

Date started: March 2016

Founder: Hasib Khan

Based: Dubai

Employees: 40

Amount raised (to date): $3.25m – $750,000 seed funding in 2017 and a Seed round of $2.5m last year. Raised $1.3m from Eureeca investors in January 2021 as part of a Series A round with a $5m target.

Abu Dhabi traffic facts

Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road

The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.

Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.

The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.

The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.

Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019

 

MATCH INFO

Schalke 0

Werder Bremen 1 (Bittencourt 32')

Man of the match Leonardo Bittencourt (Werder Bremen)

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler

Price, base / as tested Dh57,000

Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine

Transmission Six-speed gearbox

Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm

Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km

%3Cp%3EThe%20Punishment%20of%20Luxury%3Cbr%3EOMD%3Cbr%3E100%25%20Records%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo 4-cyl

Transmission: eight-speed auto

Power: 190bhp

Torque: 300Nm

Price: Dh169,900

On sale: now 

Company profile

Name: Steppi

Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic

Launched: February 2020

Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year

Employees: Five

Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai

Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings

Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year

Who was Alfred Nobel?

The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.

  • In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
  • Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
  • Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
The specs

Engine: 5.0-litre V8

Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm

Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: L/100km

Price: Dh306,495

On sale: now