John AdoyiFrench cement giant Lafarge is now entangled in a legal battle as Yazidi-Americans, led by the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad, filed a lawsuit accusing the company of aiding the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in committing acts of violence against the Yazidi community.
The lawsuit, filed in a New York court on Thursday, alleges that Lafarge provided material support to ISIS, allowing the terrorist organization to carry out atrocities against the Yazidi community in their homeland of Sinjar, Northern Iraq in 2014.
Praying for the court to compel Lafarge to pay compensation to the survivals for its role in ISIS atrocities in Iraq, the Yazidi community in America said that Lafarge “aided and abetted ISIS’s acts of international terrorism and conspired with ISIS and its intermediaries.”
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Nadia Murad, a prominent Yazidi human rights activist and Nobel laureate, is spearheading the legal action against Lafarge. Murad, who herself was a victim of ISIS captivity, has been a relentless advocate for the Yazidi community, seeking justice for the crimes committed against them.
Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, known for her work on high-profile cases, is representing the Yazidi-Americans in their pursuit of justice. Clooney is joined by Lee Wolosky, a former veteran U.S. diplomat with extensive experience in human rights and counterterrorism issues.
This is not the first time Lafarge has been dragged to court for its role in Iraq and Syria. Last year October, the cement giant agreed to pay $778 million as a fine for paying terrorist groups so that it can keep operating in Syria. Lafarge also was sued last July by Families of a U.S. aid worker and American soldiers – all killed or injured by Islamic State and militant group Al-Nusra Front.
According to Reuters, Yazidis are an ancient religious minority that combines elements of Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Islam.
According to figures from the European Union Agency for Asylum, before the arrival of ISIL in 2014, the Yazidi community was believed to comprise between 300,000 and 700,000 members, with an estimated population of 142,000 in Sinjar. The ISIL invasion of the Sinjar district is estimated to have caused the widespread displacement of around 360,000 Yazidis, Arabs, and Christians. As of July 2020, 200,000 Yazidis still faced displacement.
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