Inside the Twana H.S. and Asia R.A. Trial #18: The Good, The Bad, and The Poor
TRIAL OF TWANA H.S. AND ASIA R.A.
Higher Regional Court – Munich, Germany
Trial Monitoring Summary #18
Hearing Date: December 1 & 2, 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 18th trial monitoring report details day 34 and 35 of the trial of Twana H.S. and Asia R.A. in Munich, Germany. On this trial day, the Court heard a linguistic expert report from court interpreter, C3, who was tasked with reviewing the translation of a transcribed statement of witness F30, as she could not give an in-court testimony. C3 identified and reported several issues in the translation. Following a discussion with Twana H.S.’s Defense Team, C3 read out the sentences she had corrected.
On the second day, the Court heard several witnesses in the social circle of Asia R.A. First was witness W20, a friend of Asia R.A. She testified that Asia R.A. was a good mother, not very religious and afraid of her husband. The second witness was W21, a friend of Asia R.A., of her aunt F54, and of her uncle W2. He reported, challenged by some interpretation issues, that Asia R.A., while being afraid of her husband, was not a very good mother. The next witness, W22, only knew Asia R.A. through his volunteer work and could only add that she spoke in a religious way. The last witness, W23, interpreted for Asia R.A. once to the police and perceived her as shy.
Day 34 – December 1, 2025
On this trial day, the Court heard [redacted name], C3 as a linguistic expert. The Court first explained that they had tasked C3 with verifying the accuracy of the translation of the statement of [redacted name], F30, which had been given to UNITAD. The statement had been audio recorded, transcribed, and translated from Kurmanji into English, and this English protocol had then been translated into German. C3 was tasked with identifying and correcting logical mistakes, primarily in the German translation.
C3 first explained the difficulties that arise when translating Kurmanji into German or German into Kurmanji, as German has a lot of standardized language, while Kurmanji has many different variations and dialects. When asked about the use of pronouns in Kurmanji, C3 answered that Kurmaji uses pronouns the same way they would be used in German.
C3 did not consider the translation to be of very good quality. While she would not call it bad, she did not think it adhered to translation standards due to its severe lack of grammatical knowledge. In C3’s opinion, the translator had great difficulty distinguishing between family relations and the names of countries and people.
The Court proposed introducing the report via the self-reading procedure. C3 answered that she thought the parties to the proceedings would be asking her questions regarding points they did not understand. The Court asked C3 about the spelling of the man’s name, [redacted name], F44, who is accused of raping [redacted name], F29. When asked to explain the use of currency, C3 told the Court that in Kurmanji, to describe an amount of money, one would say “10 times a hundred money mark American currency.”
After this, the Court decided to defer to the self-reading procedure, but the Defense Team of Twana H.S. objected, as their client would not be able to understand the document himself due to his lack of education. The Court took a break to confer about this issue.
***
[15-minutes-break]
***
The discussion continued after the break. The Court decided that C3 should read all the corrected sentences, noting that they would project the transcript onto the wall via an overhead projector. C3 then read out the corrected sentences. Some of the sentences had omitted parts or added onto the translation that the witness had not said in the interview.
After C3 finished, the Defense Team of Twana H.S. noted that as [redacted name], P2’s, statement had been interpreted by the same person they would like C3 to go over the translation of this transcript as well. The Court responded that this would not be necessary as P2 would appear before the Court and could therefore correct any mistakes that had been made. The Defense responded in turn that C3 had already remarked that the translation was not up to par. The Court decided to take the issue under advisement until the next day.
Next, the Defense of Twana H.S. read a statement in accordance with Sect. 257 GCCP on the testimony of [redacted name], F35, [redacted information]. The Defense claimed that F35’s testimony contained severe contradictions. It also differed significantly from her statement with UNITAD and while the Defense acknowledged that she had only established contact with [redacted information], that did not factor into the validity of her statement. The Defense also argued that F35 also had not recognized the Accused herself, but that she was influenced by the testimony of [redacted name], F29, who said that she had recognized the Accused. In the video that had been shown to the Court, P1 had not spoken about being raped while detailing other abuses, which contradicted F35’s testimony.
The Defense of Asia R.A. did not want to give a statement.
The proceedings were adjourned at 1:54 PM
The next trial day will be on December 2, 2025, at 9:30AM.
Day 35 – December 2, 2025
The second session this week started with the interpreter, [redacted name], C1, assuring the Court that he understood the first witness of the day, [redacted name], W20, perfectly, as they are both from Iraq.
After confirming that the witness knew Asia R.A., the Court asked W20 how she had met the Accused. With C1 interpreting into broken and incoherent German at times, W20 testified that she had been placed in the refugee facility where she met Asia R.A. in June 2018 [note: The direct translation of the one sentence was: “I tell how long that I live in this shelter and then was transferred. June 11, 2018 was when I was transferred there.”]. They held contact until the beginning of 2024, even after W20 was relocated to another refugee facility because both of them were single mothers raising daughters.
W20 called Asia R.A. a very “sociatal” child [note: German: “gesellschaftlich.” Most likely the interpreter meant the German translation for social, German: “gesellig.” However, although the parties to the proceedings asked clarifying questions, the translation was not explicitly clarified.] When asked to explain what she meant by that, W20 answered that Asia R.A. had changed her style of clothing and that she was very “societal” When asked what about her was like “a child”, W20 answered through a long paragraph that Asia R.A. liked to ride the bike. According to the interpretation, W20 said: “She had for example childlike I have seen like that, she had for example done some things was for her very normal, rode a bike and something like that was that naturally very easy, it is of course my impression.” Visibly frustrated with the quality of the interpretation, Defense Counsel of Asia R.A. Shervin Ameri muttered audibly “Welcome to Germany.” The Court did not react. When asked if there was something else that seemed childish about Asia R.A., according to C1, W20 replied that Asia R.A. would go to a playground. Incredulously, Asia R.A.’s Defense Counsel Shervin Ameri interrupted the Court pointing out that W20 had used the German Word “Dult” [note: A Dult is a fair native to the south of Germany], requesting that the Court ask the witness if she had said Dult instead of playground. The Defense Counsel pointed out that a Dult is not a playground as well. The Court asked C1 if W20 had said that Asia R.A., to which C1 replied that yes, W20 had used the German word Dult, but that he knows this is a place for playing and that he could have called it a “playcity” therefore, in his opinion “playground” is the right translation. The Presiding Judge then asked the witness if Asia R.A. went to a place for children to play where she used the playground equipment in the intended way, which the witness confirmed, but that Asia R.A. left her children with W20 when she went to the Dult. According to C1, Asia R.A. would not have used the equipment, had she taken her children, and instead stayed to play with them. The Presiding Judge frowned at the interpreter for a short while and then decided to move on from this line of questioning.
The witness further testified – repeatedly translated into incoherent German by C1 – that the two talked about men, who they thought were attractive and that Asia R.A.’s father was in prison. She had contact with Asia R.A.’s uncle [redacted name], W2, as well as Asia R.A.’s aunts. The family members she had contact with urged W20 to convince Asia R.A. to wear more casual clothes instead of Islamic veils. They spoke in Arabic, which Asia R.A. speaks well according to W20, and W20 believed that Asia R.A. was born in 1996. Asia R.A. was rather reserved around W20. W20 never saw Asia R.A.’s husband as he was in prison, to her knowledge, as he had been accused by two people to have been with Daesh. According to W20, Asia R.A. was afraid of her husband and wanted a divorce because of their daughter [redacted name], F1, as Twana H.S. did not want F1 to go to school. Throughout the testimony, Defense Counsels for Asia R.A., Shervin Ameri and Philipp Janson, engaged in a heated, though quiet discussion amongst themselves.
W20 did not know why Asia R.A. left Iraq or what Asia R.A.’s husband did in Iraq. She also did not know specifically how Asia R.A. and Twana H.S. met, but she did know that Asia R.A. agreed to marry Twana H.S. Asia R.A. had no documents of the marriage. According to W20, Twana H.S. had a brother living in [redacted location] and an adult son in [redacted location]. Asia R.A.’s first husband died as a martyr after Asia R.A. had been forced to marry him.
Asia R.A. refused to eat food that W20, who is a Shiite, prepared. Defense Counsel Kämpf asked C1 to repeat himself as he could not hear him. One Judge, agreeing with Kämpf, asked everyone to please speak after one another, as the interpreter [redacted name], C1, kept interrupting the witness while speaking, leading to his interpretation being difficult to understand.
The witness recalled that Asia R.A. was still underage when she married her first husband, and she was together with him for about a year. Upon questioning by the Court, W20 clarified that the Yazidi people who lived in the refugee facility with them did not want to eat the food W20 made either.
W20 then testified that Asia R.A.’s first husband died in an explosion while on his way to the mosque. He was not at fault in that explosion. Asia R.A. loved her first husband. She was pregnant with his child but lost it. The two lived together in Mosul. W20 did not know whether Asia R.A.’s first husband or father were part of ISIS. While Asia R.A. did not remember her mother, she showed W20 pictures of her. Asia R.A. was born in 1996, which W20 knew because she had seen Asia R.A.’s German ID.
During the subsequent questioning, the Defense kept objecting to questions raised by the Court. Judges and Defense then engaged in a discussion about permissible questions in general. Ameri complained that the Court was not adhering to its own rules. Upon further questioning, W20 reiterated that she did not know where Asia R.A. and her husband had lived before relocating from Mosul to Turkey, a question previously objected to by the Defense, invoking Defense Counsel Ameri to leave the courtroom, slamming the door behind him. The witness continued answering questions. She remembered that Asia R.A. did not speak about her thoughts on Yazidi people. When Ameri returned, the Presiding Judge told him that he tried to take everyone’s feelings into account, and while he understood that Ameri was angry, he should not act out of that anger by slamming the door, though. Ameri answered that he is angry that the Court does not have to hold itself to the same standards as the Defense must, but that he apologizes for slamming the door.
When asked, W20 clarified that she does not know why she [W20] does not want to ride the bike and that maybe one day she will ride the bike again, but in an organization like ISIS women were not allowed to ride the bike and that it was therefore important that Asia R.A. does ride the bike just for fun.
Next, Plaintiffs’ Counsel von Wistinghausen, asked W20 how Asia R.A. described the marriage with her husband. W20 answered that Asia R.A. loved her husband at first, until she found out that he already had an adult son, which she found out from Twana H.S.’s brother when she came to Germany. When W20 met Asia R.A., Asia R.A. was pregnant and had a daughter whom she cared for very well. When Asia R.A.’s daughter was three, the two talked about Twana H.S. not wanting their daughter to go to school or kindergarten.
Next, [redacted name], E1, an expert on child psychology, asked the witness some questions about Asia R.A.’s character. W20 also described Asia R.A. as “coming nearer to her”, according to the translation by C1, which was left uncommented. W20 reiterated her earlier answers, saying she is “sociatal” and childish. She also repeated her answer to a question about Asia R.A.’s parenting, though she added that Asia R.A. sometimes yelled at her child when she was angry.
Next Ewald, Defense Counsel for Twana H.S., asked the witness about her testimony regarding the marriage. W20 clarified that while she knew they married under the rules of ISIS, there were no documents on the marriage, though this conflicted with the police statement she had given prior. Kämpf, Defense Counsel for Twana H.S. asked the same question again, to which W20 answered that Asia R.A. had told her they had married in accordance with Islamic law. When Kämpf asked how she knew this information, the Court interfered by interpreting the interpretation of C1, arguing that W20 had heard this from the general media and videos. Kämpf replied that he now understood, adding that understanding the testimony was hard. Next, Kämpf asked what it meant that Asia R.A. is “sociatal” in terms of terminology. W20 answered that Asia R.A. has relationships with everyone.
The Court proceeded to show her various pictures, though she only recognized a traditional Kurdish dress in one picture.
After the witness was dismissed, the Court informed the Defense that they would not translate the protocol of [redacted name], P2’s, prior statement.
***
[95-minutes-break]
***
After the break, the Court was surprised that the witness, [redacted name], W21, had appeared despite previously warning the Court that he could not attend today’s hearing. Once again interpreted into incoherent German, W21 then testified that he met Asia R.A. in the city while she lived in [redacted location] in 2020. W21 told her that he would always be there for her if Asia R.A. had any problems, that he would be like a brother to her. Asia R.A. told W21 that Twana H.S.’s family was threatening her. According to W21, his [redacted information] lives in Sweden and his sister in [redacted location]. He did know Asia R.A.’s uncle, [redacted name], W2, as W2 visited Asia R.A. and her aunt, the three talked on the phone. When asked by the Court why they had called each other, W21 recalled that he knew her aunt through Asia R.A. He repeated this answer when the Court repeated its question and repeated that answer even after the Presiding Judge told W21 that he should listen to the question being asked as he was not answering this question. The Court eventually gave up on this question and moved on to the content of the call. W21 explained that they had talked about Asia’s father and his involvement with ISIS to which the aunt speculated that the father was in prison. Her stepmother was, allegedly, in prison, too, for being part of ISIS. Asia had a very good childhood with her father, according to W21.
Upon further questioning, he told the Court that someone was not very feminine in her childhood and played with the boys rather than the girls. The Court then asked him if he was talking about Asia R.A. or himself to which C1, the interpreter, replied that the witness was talking about himself. The parties to the proceedings groaned in unison. The interpreter then corrected himself, saying that the witness was talking about Asia.
The Court moved on to ask the witness about Asia R.A. being forced into marriage up to four times. W21 answered that [redacted name], F54, told him Asia R.A. had been married four times and when asked why those relationships ended, the witness recalled that F54 had told him this, and he did not know. When asked again, the witness stated that F54 told him this, that Asia R.A. was married, but he does not know. After some back and forth, the Judge became agitated that the witness seemed to give answers that made no sense telling the witness that he is the one saying this and that he must have meant something by saying it.
Next, W21 remembered that Asia R.A. was afraid of Twana H.S. and wanted to leave him. She had caught Twana H.S. sleeping with other women in her house, which no woman would accept, and he also alleged that Asia R.A. was abused by her husband. When asked for an example, W21 said that Asia R.A. grabbed at Twana H.S. prompting the Presiding Judge to say that this was rather an abusive action by Asia R.A. W21 also told the Court that he helped Asia R.A. get documents from the Iraqi consulate. According to W21, while Asia R.A. was religious when she came to Germany, the longer she stayed the less religious she got. This went as far as her being very lightly dressed when she was at home, even with men present.
W21 testified that Asia R.A. had a son, who is [redacted information], and a daughter who is [redacted information] years old. Asia R.A. speaks Kurdish and Arabic. Asia R.A. told W21 that her father had offered to work with the government of Kurdistan, but he lied to them which is why he is still in prison.
As the other parties had no questions, Kämpf, Defense Counsel for Twana H.S., started asking his questions. W21 reasserted that Asia R.A.’s father did not physically abuse her. When asked about the situation in which Asia R.A. was arrested, a discussion ensued because one of the Judges asserted that W21 had said that the head of the refugee center did not provide W21 with information about the reason for Asia R.A.’s arrest because of data protection. This could not be corroborated by anyone else, ending the discussion by agreeing that most likely the head of the facility had not given out any information on grounds of data protection, but the witness did not know. Frustrated, Counsel Kämpf stressed, that he was reaching his linguistic limits with the interpreter and that he would ask this same question regarding the data protection for the rest of the day until the witness could answer. The Judges interjected, trying to explain what the interpreter might have wanted to say with his answers. Kämpf pointed out that there are other reasons besides the way he was wording his questions that might be making the questioning this difficult, alluding to the interpreter's skills as such. The Presiding Judge agreed that this may be the case, but argued these issues could not be addressed at the moment. Kämpf suggested that there were solutions, but the Presiding Judge asked him to move on.
***
[13-minutes-break]
***
After the break, Kämpf asked about a situation where W21 saw Asia R.A. pregnant, standing at a bus station. W21 only reiterated that this had happened. W21 testified that towards the end of their relationship W21 could not watch Asia R.A. suffer any more.
Next, Ameri asked the witness how Asia R.A. treated her children. The witness reported that she neglected the children. After a few questions, W21 spoke of a specific incident where the police had come to ensure that Asia R.A.’s daughter [redacted name], F1, would go to school. Asia R.A. supposedly slept the whole day, did not leave her bed and did not cook for the children. Ameri asked whether Asia R.A. sent W21 any screenshots of texts between her and her husband or his family. The witness could not remember. Ameri then asked various questions about Asia R.A.’s childhood which W21 did not know. After Asia R.A. was arrested, W21 still held contact with Asia R.A.’s family. W21 was told by [redacted name], F54, why Asia R.A. was arrested. The witness was then dismissed.
The next witness, [redacted name], W22, helped Asia R.A. in his capacity as a volunteer for the Order of Malta. He interpreted for Asia R.A. on three occasions, though he did not specify which. In conversation with him, Asia R.A. used several words that were connected to strictly religious communities. When asked what religion he was, the witness was reluctant to testify and when asked which confession of Islam he followed, he replied that he was not interested in stuff like that. When asked, W22 denied having any romantic interest in Asia R.A.
The last witness was an interpreter who interpreted for Asia R.A. in a police interview. He remembered her as being very shy and having a husband that was an ambulance driver. He complained to the Court about not being summoned more often.
The proceedings were adjourned at 4:50 PM
The next trial day will be on December 10, 2025, at 9:30 AM.
___________________________
For more information or to provide feedback, please contact SJAC at [email protected] and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to SJAC’s newsletter for updates on our work