Sadr comments positively on Bashar’s presence in WYF

CAIRO – 9 November 2017: Iraqi Ambassador to Egypt Habib al-Sadr said on the World Youth Forum's (WYF) sidelines, that he came to Sharm El-Sheikh to visit the escaped captive Lamiya Aja Bashar, who told her story with “courage.”

Bashar is a Yazidi Iraqi girl who managed to escape the Islamic State (IS) militants’ captivity about a year ago, and told her story on Sunday at the WYF in Sharm El-Sheikh.

“I came here today not as an ambassador, representing my country, but I consider myself as Lamiya’s father,” Sadr stated. "I gave her all my addresses so that she would be able to contact me whenever she wants," he added.

Bashar said that Lamiya’s story does not only represent her personal grief, but the grief of all Iraqi girls who experienced IS’s severe assault.

Bashar was held captive by the Islamic State, taken as a sex slave and gang raped. She tried to escape captivity four times but failed.

In 2016, Bashar could successfully escape on her fifth attempt but was critically injured in a landmine explosion where she lost an eye, and her face was disfigured.