Mother of Yazidi girl rescued from ISIS in Ankara 'could also be captive'

The Yazidi community in Ankara suspects that the mother of a seven-year-old child rescued from ISIS could also be held captive by the jihadists. The community had the intelligence about the woman "confirmed by reliable sources" on March 29, a representative said.

Tuesday March 30 2021 10:22 am

The seven-year-old Yazidi girl is seen leaving the location where she was held captive with a toy in her hand on Feb. 24.

Hale Gönültaş / DUVAR

The mother of a seven-year-old Yazidi girl rescued from ISIS in Ankara recently could also be a captive of the jihadist group, Yazidi Cultural Foundation Chair Azad Barış said.

The group's research in collaboration with Yazidi communities in not just Iraqi Kurdistan but also in Europe and Canada revealed that the child's mother could indeed be a captive of ISIS in the Turkish capital, Barış noted.

The foundation also received reports that law enforcement had been told the child's mother was in Ankara, although police have not made an official statement about the woman's whereabouts.

"As representatives of the Yazidi community, we are urging security forces to locate this child's mother, as well as other women who share her fate," Barış said.

The seven-year-old child was rescued from captivity on Feb. 24 after police located her picture on an ISIS chat room in the deep web, where the jihadist group conducts illegal human trafficking.

Police were unable to find any information on the child's family, origin or lineage, and were forced to rely on information from the ISIS militant who held her captive.

"Kidnapped from Iraq as a war trophy," the police report about the child's rescue said.

The Yazidi community's efforts to locate the family proved more useful, as their communication with different diasporas across the world was eventually was lead to the tip about the child's mother.

The community had the intelligence about the woman "confirmed by reliable sources" on March 29, Barış said.

Meanwhile, the Justice Ministry is refusing to allow the Yazidi community to meet with the child, Barış noted, as their official petitions to speak to the minor with a child therapist have been ignored.

"The refusal to let us or any other Yazidi entity speak with the child has become suspicious and worrying," Barış said.

The government's failure to respond to the Yazidi community's lawyers gives the impression that there is gross negligence on the part of law enforcement, Barış added.