A German, a Belgian and a Frenchman, all three with experience in trials against suspects for Nazi crimes, are trying to prove that members of the Islamic State committed genocide against the Yazidi religious community in Iraq.
The Yazidis were targeted by members of the Islamic State when the jihadists seized parts of northern and western Iraq in August.
Yazidis are members of an old Kurdish sect who live in northern Iraq and Syria. Their religion, which has elements of Zoroastrianism, is considered heretical by members of the Islamic State.
In addition to Umanski, investigators from the association Jahad In Unum, which deals with the investigation of Nazi crimes against Jews and Roma in the territories of the former USSR, took the statements of numerous Yazidis who were captured by the extremists and who managed to free themselves.
Belgian Costel Nastazi, a former police officer who heads the "Dignity of Roma" organization, explains that there is no time distance and that proving genocide is very different when you deal with crimes that are happening today.
The third member of this team of investigators is the French priest Patrick Debois.
According to the first testimonies, as stated by this priest, the jihadists are making lists of all Yazidis.
He also said that doctors were present at all stages of the process and were in charge of "drugging the sex slaves or giving the boys medicine to make it easier to bear the pain."
According to Iraqi Kurdistan authorities, of the approximately 550.000 Yazidis living in Iraq, 400.000 were displaced during the conflict, approximately 1.500 were killed and 4.000 are in captivity.
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