Du'a Khalil Aswad

Du'a Khalil Aswad ( Arabic دعاء خليل أسود Dua Chalil Aswad , DMG Duʿāʾ Ḫalīl Aswad ; * 1989 or 1990; † April 7, 2007 in Iraq ) was a seventeen-year-old Yezidi girl who was presumably stoned by a crowdin a so-called honor killing in Iraq. A video of the lynching , apparently captured by a person in the crowd with a cell phone camera, wasposted on theInternet and caused horror worldwide. Rumors that the girl allegedlyconvertedto Islam before she was stonedled to a massive increase in Muslim resentment against Yazidis . Several brutal terrorist attacks in the following years, which were directed exclusively against Yazidis, are interpreted as acts of revenge by Muslim extremists for the stoning.

The video

In this video you can see, among other things, how the girl screams for help while some people from the crowd kick her in the stomach area. Finally, a man drops a large stone on her head, causing her to lie motionless and covered in blood. The video also shows that the girl was partially exposed when she was stoned, which is supposed to show that she brought shame on her family and the religion of the Yazidis. During the course of the video, Iraqi security forces can also be seen watching the stoning.

The motif of the stoning

Even if the motive for the stoning is not clear, everything points to an honor killing. Other sources claim that the girl was allegedly stoned for converting to Islam. The conversion to Islam is said to have taken place because of the love for a Sunni boy.

Funeral and reactions

After the gruesome murder, which lasted about 30 minutes, the girl was burned and buried with the remains of a dog, which was to demonstrate her worthlessness. Internationally, the cruel stoning aroused great outrage. Amnesty International responded by calling against honor killings. Four men were arrested in connection with the murder in northern Iraq . Hundreds of demonstrators took part in a demonstration in Erbil calling for an end to honor killings.

It is believed that the devastating bomb attacks on two exclusively Yazidis populated northern Iraqi towns on August 14, 2007 were an act of revenge by Sunni extremists for the stoning. Nearly 800 people were murdered and more than 1,500 injured in the attacks. On April 22, 2007, 23 Yazidis were shot dead by Sunni extremists near Mosul .

See also : Sinjar attack

supporting documents

1. ↑ http://www.aina.org/news/20070425181603.htm
2. ↑ ^{a b} The Times : Survivors of bombs left to die in rubble , by Ayhem Omar, August 19, 2007
3. ↑ CNN.com Video .
4. ↑ The video ( Memento of the original from May 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ Daily Mail : The moment a teenage girl was stoned to death for loving the wrong boy , May 3, 2007
6. ↑ ^{a b} Amnesty International - Iraq: Amnesty International appalled by stoning to death of Yezidi girl and subsequent killings www.amnesty.org, April 27, 2007, accessed on October 21, 2018.
7. ↑ Stop "honor killings" in Iraq ( Memento from July 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
8. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from January 10, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from May 15, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
10. ↑ United States Commission on International Religious Freedom: Iraq Report - 2008