Islamic State fighters have apparently been provided with a manual on how to buy and sell women and girls captured by the militant group, and which gives the green light to sex with pre-pubescent girls.
Thousands of non-Muslim captives are believed to still be in the hands of the IS jihadists, notably those from the Yazidi minority sect.
The Arabic-language manual was purportedly distributed outside of a mosque in the captured Iraqi city of Mosul, but was also circulated on Twitter by pro-IS accounts, attributed to the Research and Fatwa department of the jihadist group.
The document's authenticity has only been assured by the Washington-based Middle East Media Research Institute, an organisation oft-criticised for its reporting on the Arab world in a overly negative light. MEMRI translated the document to English.
The cover of the alleged "manual" for slave-keeping
The pamphlet itself appears to give instructions on how women and girls can be sold, how they can be used as concubines, and how they can be given as gifts.
"It is permissible to have sexual intercourse with the female captive. Allah the almighty said: '[Successful are the believers] who guard their chastity, except from their wives or (the captives and slaves) that their right hands possess, for then they are free from blame [Koran 23:5-6]'..." the document is translated as saying.
"Is it permissible to have intercourse with a female slave who has not reached puberty?" one question asks.
"It is permissible to have intercourse with the female slave who hasn't reached puberty if she is fit for intercourse; however if she is not fit for intercourse, then it is enough to enjoy her without intercourse," the response is translated.
"Is it permissible to have intercourse with a female captive immediately after taking possession [of her]?" another question is translated.
"If she is a virgin, he [her master] can have intercourse with her immediately after taking possession of her. However, is she isn't, her uterus must be purified [first]" the response is given, with purification taken to mean after she has had a period.
The advice also appears to suggest it is "permissible to buy, sell, or give as a gift female captives and slaves, for they are merely property, which can be disposed of".
It also forbids the selling of a woman who is pregnant with her "owner's" child, and from separating her from her children, but allows the separation of women and their children if the children are older.
The document purportedly says any non-Muslim woman can be taken as a captive, but bars taking any Muslim women, even if they have become "apostates" or non-believers.
A group of men who all "own" the same woman cannot all have sex with her, the document appears to say, but only one man who "owns her" entirely. It also appears to give advice on the withdrawal method for sex with captured women and girls.
The document appears to give instructions about what parts of the body of a captured woman have to be covered during the visits of other men and at the mosque.
It finally suggests that beating the captured women and girls is permissable, as long as they are not hit in the face, or tortured just for the pleasure of an owner. It gives the punishments doled out for the captives who escape, saying it is the "gravest of sins" and they should be "reprimanded.. to deter others like her from escaping."
Haras Rafiq, an expert at British counter-terrorism think-tank the Quilliam Foundation, told the Mail he views the report as genuine: "It is a sick and disgusting document, and it takes the world back to the Dark Ages.
"There is no place for slavery in the modern world. There have been widespread reports of IS fighters raping female captives, which has now become part of the anti-IS propaganda. This document may be a way to regulate the behaviours of these fighters."
Human Rights Watch said it could not independently verify the document, but told VICE News it was consistent with interviews they had done with captured women who had escaped from IS fighters.
The details are "not surprising" and are "yet more evidence that the Islamic State is a depraved criminal organisation seeking to cloak its atrocious acts in piety," HRW researcher Letta Tayler said.
CNN reported the document was first distributed in Iraq in November, but the translation was only posted by MEMRI this week. It quoted a local man who said that locals were discussing the document in depth when it was handed outside the mosque. "Most are shocked, but cannot do much about it," CNN quoted him as saying.