Germany jails Iraqi IS member for life for Yazidi genocide

A Frankfurt court on Tuesday handed a life sentence to an Iraqi man who joined the Islamic State group for genocide against the Yazidi minority, in the first verdict worldwide to use the label.

Taha Al-Jumailly, 29, passed out in the courtroom after being found guilty of genocide, as well as crimes against humanity, war crimes, aiding and abetting war crimes and bodily harm with fatal consequences.

A Kurdish-speaking group hailing from northern Iraq, the Yazidis were specifically targeted and oppressed by the IS group beginning in 2015.

Germany has charged several German and foreign nationals with war crimes and crimes against humanity carried out abroad, using the legal principle of universal jurisdiction which allows crimes to be prosecuted even if they were committed in a foreign country.