By Theodore Shoebat
ISIS terrorists in Iraq kidnapped a Christian man named Karlus and severely tortured him. They sliced his body and hung him by his foot, and as blood flowed from his injured foot, they put salt on his wounds to make the pain more agonizing, they also brought in Muslim women to sexually molest him. According to one report:
Islamic State (IS) jihadists hung Karlus, a 29-year-old cook, from the ceiling of the jail he was held in by a rope attached to his left foot. As blood poured from his foot, they beat and kicked him, rubbing salt into his wounds. He was sexually abused in prison by three women wearing niqabs. He was told he would be shot dead, but for reasons he still does not understand, on the day his execution was due to take place, September 26, 2014, he was released.
When IS seized control of Iraqi territory in the summer of 2014, they gave Christians, as “people of the Book”, four options: leave, convert to Islam, pay a protection tax (jiyza) or be killed. The vast majority fled—an estimated 120,000 in a few short weeks that summer. But those left behind were subjected to torture, forced conversion, sexual slavery and even crucifixion, according to testimonies collected from Iraqi refugees in Jordan by the religious freedom charity ADF International.
Karlus told its researchers he had been unable to flee his home in Batnaya, a village outside Mosul, because he was looking after his disabled father. When the terrorists came to his house, they destroyed a cross and a picture of Jesus.
“They even destroyed a piece from the Quran that was given to me by a friend,” he said. Karlus was taken to a police station unconscious after retaliating when one of the jihadists hit him in the face. There began his seven-week ordeal at the hands of IS, after which he fled to Kurdistan, was treated in Spain for the injuries to his leg and sought asylum in Jordan. Unknown to Karlus, his father had meantime managed to travel to Baghdad but died there in August 2015.
Esam, a father of three from outside the town of Qaraqosh, said two of his wife’s relatives had not managed to flee Qaraqosh before IS arrived. They were abducted; the husband has not been heard of since and the wife “now lives with one of the Daesh [IS] amirs“. While reports have focused on Yezidi women being taken into sex slavery, Esam’s account suggests Christian women and girls may have been targeted as well.
“We heard of 12 Christian girls who are with Daesh. They may be more. Our bishop told people not to tell if they lose their girls; it is a shame on the family,” he said.