Inside the Twana H.S. and Asia R.A. Trial #13: Twana H.S.’s Life – Trials and Tribulations of His Own Making
TRIAL OF TWANA H.S. AND ASIA R.A.
Higher Regional Court – Munich, Germany
Trial Monitoring Summary #13
Hearing Date: September 30 & October 1, 2025
CAUTION: Some testimony may include graphic descriptions of torture, rape or other violent acts.
Note that this summary is not a verbatim transcript of the trial; it is merely an unofficial summary of the proceedings.
Throughout this summary, [information located in brackets are notes from our trial monitor] and “information placed in quotes are statements made by the witness, judges or counsel.” The names and identifying information of witnesses have been redacted.
[Note: SJAC provides a summary of the proceedings while redacting certain details to protect witness privacy and to preserve the integrity of the trial.]
SJAC’s 13th trial monitoring report details day 24 and 25 of the trial of Twana H.S. and Asia R.A. in Munich, Germany. On this trial day, the Court heard Officer W12, who monitored Twana H.S. between his times in prison, as Twana H.S. was assessed as posing a significant risk to society due to a high probability of reoffending. Twana H.S. broke the conditions of his release multiple times, according to W12. The Court also heard W13, Twana H.S.’s probation officer, who reported that Twana H.S. became increasingly religious while he knew him. Twana H.S.’s justification for breaking the conditions of his release were “conspiracy theories,” according to W13.
On the second day this week, the Court heard various witnesses. Before lunch, the Court heard F2, and F4, who were both former partners of Twana H.S. from the time he spent living in Germany prior to joining ISIS. After lunch, the Court heard W14, who got his hair cut by Twana H.S. while the Accused was living in [redacted location].
Day 24 – September 30, 2025
On this trial day, the Court heard [redacted name], W12, who monitored Twana H.S. after he had been released from prison in February 2023 [to hear about Twana H.S.’s previous convictions, read Trial Reports #02 and #03]. According to W12, Twana H.S. downplayed his crimes to him, claiming that the West had created ISIS, so he could not understand why Germany would imprison him. Twana H.S. claimed to have been tortured and poisoned in prison.
In addition to surveilling Twana H.S. physically, the police had surveilled Twana H.S.’s telecommunications, starting at the latest a week after Twana H.S. was released from prison. Twana H.S. had a big circle of friends in [redacted location], the place where he had been placed to live. He also held contact with his family. Twana H.S. spoke negatively about the people living in Germany, including his friends, calling them unbelievers.
According to W12, Twana H.S. still held the same ideology as when he was with ISIS, which his friends in [redacted location] shared. At one point, Twana H.S., in an effort to bring attention to the perceived injustice that had been done to him, frightened a woman working at the Diakonie so badly that the Diakonie got in contact with W12. Twana H.S. had been trying to get in contact with the Diakonie on multiple occasions.
There were multiple conditions attached to Twana H.S.’s release. One was the condition that he could not have any internet-enabled devices, which Twana H.S. claimed to adhere to. Despite this, the police found a smartphone and a TV in his room that were both able to access the internet. Twana H.S. made multiple social media accounts with these devices. Another condition was that Twana H.S. was not allowed to have any weapon-like tools. Despite this, he carried a tire repair kit with a weapon-like tool, despite not having any car to repair the tires of. The tool was confiscated, but charges [of violating parole] were dropped when the police were informed of the charges the Federal Prosecutor's Office intended to bring against Twana H.S. Twana H.S. was also not allowed to leave [redacted location] and had to wear an electric ankle bracelet to monitor this. It alerted the police of Twana H.S. indeed leaving [redacted location] on one occasion, by accident—he claimed. Twana H.S. reacted to all his infractions either with deflection or justifications.
W12 also testified that Twana H.S. was provided with access to the internet by another resident of the refugee shelter he was staying in.
Twana H.S. had to attend monthly meetings at the immigration office in [redacted location] to have his temporary tolerated stay status extended. In one of those meetings, Twana H.S. got belligerent and threatening towards the workers, so much so that security had to be called. This was a novelty, as the immigration office in [redacted location] does not normally have security on site but did for Twana H.S.’s appointments.
When asked specifically about Twana H.S.’s being poisoned, W12 told the Court about two telephone conversations Twana H.S. had with Asia R.A., in which he told her not to eat anything provided by friends or strangers as it could be poisoned.
While the Federal Prosecutor's Office and Dr. Freisleder did not have any questions, the psychatric expert attending the trial to assess Twana H.S.’s ability to understand the unlawfulness of his actions [redacted name], E5, did have some questions for W12. W12 told E5 that while Twana H.S. always spoke about the way he was treated reproachfully, he did not tell W12 about specific instances in which he had been tortured or poisoned.
Next, Peter Ewald, Defense Counsel for Twana H.S., asked W12 questions about Twana H.S.’s exact accusations against the state. W12 repeated what he had told the Court and told the Defense Counsel that he had not asked for any more detailed accounts. Mr. Ewald then asked about Twana H.S.’s refusal to participate in deradicalization efforts and projects in prison. W12 answered that as he was not there, he only knew what had been written in Twana H.S.’s file, which amounted to the fact that while Twana H.S. did attend some appointments, he did not participate in any meaningful way. Mr. Ewald then asked about Twana H.S.’s violations of his parole conditions, and W12 reiterated what he had told the Court. Martin Kämpf, also Defense Counsel for Twana H.S., continued this line of questioning with W12 continuing to reiterate what he had already told the Court.
As the Defense Team of Asia R.A. did not have any questions for W12, the Court dismissed W12.
***
[76-minutes-break]
Next the Court heard [redacted name], W13, Twana H.S.’s Probation Officer. W13 visited Twana H.S. once a month to inspect his home. W13 first detailed the same probationary conditions and subsequent violations of these conditions as W12 had. W13 spoke about Twana H.S.’s lack of prospects in Germany. Twana H.S. felt oppressed by the German state and started to radicalize again, which concerned W13. In June 2023, Twana H.S. started to openly delegitimize the German state, going so far as to call it a “Nazi state.” W13 said that Twana H.S. had wanted to defend his people against the injustice brought by the U.S.
After February 2023, Twana H.S. started to talk badly about Asia R.A. When asked about Twana H.S. being tortured while in prison, W13 remembered Twana H.S. claiming he had been poisoned via the wall paint in the prison. At first, W13 did not perceive Twana H.S. as a very religious individual, but by mid-year Twana H.S. spoke about being tested by God.
No one besides the Court had any further questions for the witness, so W13 was dismissed.
The proceedings were adjourned at 1:37 PM.
The next trial day will be on October 1, 2025, at 9:30 AM.
Day 25 – October 1, 2025
In the second session this week, the Court heard [redacted name], F2, a former girlfriend of Twana H.S. F2 told the Court that she had been in a relationship with Twana H.S. from 2002 until 2010, though she knew him as Imad. F2 moved into a shelter for mothers when she had Twana H.S.’s and her son, [redacted name], F3. To her knowledge, while Twana H.S. had been a Muslim, he had not been very religious. F2 had not been privy to Twana H.S.’s living situation and saw him only sparingly, even after their child was born. Twana H.S. wanted to travel with F3, but F2 had a bad feeling so she did not agree to let F3 travel with him.
The Court then asked F2 if she had ever seen anything in connection to pedophilia. Twana H.S. laughed in response to that question, while F2 denied this. When asked, F2 also denied Twana H.S. having any problems with her not wearing a hijab or them having a child while being unmarried.
As the Federal Prosecutor’s Office did not have any questions for F2, [redacted name], E5, asked F2 a few questions about Twana H.S.’s general mood. F2 answered that as she had not seen him very much while they were together, she could not answer the question. When asked about their relationship, F2 reported that they were in a monogamous relationship and were “normal” in the context of sexual practices.
The Defense Teams did not have any questions, and protested as Twana H.S. said that he has a few questions for F2. After a short discussion, Twana H.S. asked F2 a few questions about their situation, as it had been difficult for Twana H.S. to sleep in the shelter with F2. He then asked her if he had beaten her, to which F2 replied that no he had not, but he had been there too little for their child. He had missed almost all of F3’s significant milestones, and F2 alleged that this had been because both of them had been irrelevant to Twana H.S. At the end, F2 told him that she had heard he had other children and that she was sad for those children as well. Subsequently, F2 was dismissed by the Court.
***
[9-minutes-break]
***
After the break, the Court heard [redacted name], F4, another former girlfriend of Twana H.S. They were together from 2004 to 2013, in which time Twana H.S. lived in F4’s apartment and worked in her hair salon. They split up because Twana H.S. became increasingly jealous. According to F4, Twana H.S. had contact with his family at this time. Twana H.S. had not been very interested in religion and had not wanted F4 to wear a hijab. Twana H.S. also smoked and drank alcohol. F4 had met his friends and knew about F2, though Twana H.S. had claimed that F2 was his ex-girlfriend. After they separated, F4 did not have any contact with Twana H.S.
As the Federal Prosecutor’s Office did not have any questions, E5 asked the witness a few questions about their sexual practices. F4 had not seen Twana H.S. watch any porn or seen any signs of pedophilia.
The witness was subsequently dismissed.
***
[158-minutes-break]
***
After the lunch break, the Court heard [redacted name], W14, who had his hair cut by Twana H.S. regularly while Twana H.S. was living in [redacted location] after he had been released from prison. The two could not converse much, as Twana H.S. did not speak Arabic very well and W14 did not speak German very well. Twana H.S. had called himself Abu Mariam.
As no one had any other questions, the witness was dismissed.
The proceedings were adjourned at 2:46 PM.
The next trial day will be on October 10, 2025, at 9:30 AM.
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