Inside the Twana H.S. and Asia R.A. Trial #20: “The Order of Things”
TRIAL OF TWANA H.S. AND ASIA R.A.
Higher Regional Court – Munich, Germany
Trial Monitoring Summary #20
Hearing Date: December 18 & 19, 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 20th trial monitoring report details day 38 and 39 of the trial of Twana H.S. and Asia R.A. in Munich, Germany. On the first trial day, the Court continued to question the Plaintiff, P2. P2 reiterated that Twana H.S. had sexually assaulted her on three occasions, clarifying that he had raped her once and sexually assaulted her on at least two other occasions. After describing two of the incidents in detail and the third incident in broad terms, P2 was unable to continue testifying.
On the second trial day of the week, the questioning of the Plaintiff, P2, primarily by the Court, Plaintiff Counsel, and various experts, was completed. In addition, the Defense started its questioning. P2 testified on further details of the “rape” by the Accused Twana H.S., on his weapons and day-to-day clothing and coverage and on the relationship between the two Accused. When the Defense pressed on the timeline of “sexual abuse” P2 had to endure, which resulted in repetitive questions and testimonies, the Plaintiff became no longer fit to be questioned.
Day 38 – December 18, 2025
On this trial day, the Court continued with the hearing of Plaintiff [redacted name], P2. Following a brief period of confusion during which P2’s private interpreter was absent for a few minutes, the Court explained that almost everyone in the room had the right to ask questions to P2 and would most likely exercise that right. The Court also explained that P2 should not contest the questions posed by anyone but simply answer them.
The Court then started by asking P2 when she was bought by Twana H.S. P2 answered that she was not sure, but she thought it was at the end of 2017 about 2 months and a few weeks before she was freed. P2 reported that Twana H.S. was called [redacted name], though this was not his real name, that he was with ISIS and that he fought for ISIS, which he told her himself. Asia R.A., whom she knew as [redacted name], told P2 that Twana H.S. lived in Germany, that after ISIS was created, Twana H.S. came to Mosul and journeyed from Mosul to Syria. P2 added that she did not know what ties Twana H.S. had to Germany. Asia R.A. showed Twana H.S. wedding pictures, telling P2 that the wedding happened in Mosul after her father had introduced the two. P2 stressed that Asia R.A. had not been forced to marry Twana H.S., adding that Asia R.A. had been happy that Twana H.S. agreed to marry her. Asia R.A. was, however, not happy that Twana H.S. wanted another wife, telling Twana H.S. to get a Sabiya [slave] instead. While she did know that Asia R.A. had another name, she did not know which name. P2 testified that the Accused had a daughter named [redacted name]; [unclear whether they are the same or different persons] she did not know the name [redacted name], F1[note: this is the name used for the daughter of Asia R.A. and Twana H.S.], that the girl was young and crawled, but she was not sure if the girl could already walk.
After testifying about having no information about Asia R.A. having been married before, P2 recalled that Asia R.A. showed her some pictures of her sisters and herself. Asia R.A. was wearing traditional Kurdish clothing and looked very happy. Asia R.A. told P2 that Asia R.A.’s mother had died when she was born. Asia R.A. had chest-length, partially bleached hair and spoke Sorani as well as Arabic with P2, though P2 did not speak Sorani very well.
P2 also recalled that Twana H.S. and Asia R.A. were paid by ISIS at the end of the month and that Twana H.S. had bought the Sabayas for money. [Redacted name], P1 sometimes told P2 that she was eight years old and sometimes that she was ten years old. They spoke Kurmanji, though P1 did not understand the language very well. When asked if she had seen pictures of P1, P2 answered that she had been shown a few by UNITAD. P2 met P1’s sister [redacted name], F79, while P2 was still with ISIS and her sister [redacted name], F48, after P2 had fled ISIS. P2 told P1 that she had seen P1’s sister while they were still with ISIS.
While the two were with the Accused they visited three other Yazidi women. P2 only remembered the name of one of those women unprompted, [redacted name], F29. With prompting by the Judges, P2 remembered that F29 had a sister named [redacted name], F33, and that the third girl was from [redacted location]. She did not remember much about the ISIS men that the three other girls were with. The girl from [redacted location] was being held by a man that had a grey-yellow beard. Though she could not remember the house well, P2 testified that there was a courtyard. On the [redacted information], and on the [redacted information]. It almost seemed like one house, but the rooms were [redacted information]. The women stayed in one room, and the men somewhere else
The house that Asia R.A. and Twana H.S. lived in had [redacted information], a [redacted information]. Twana H.S., Asia R.A., their daughter F1, P1 and P2 slept in one room, with P1 and P2 on the floor. There were [redacted information] living in this house.
***
[32-minutes-break]
***
After the break, the Court reminded P2 that they had asked her to think about what differentiates rape and sexual assault in her opinion. P2 answered that the first time Twana H.S. slept “by” her, she did not bleed, but she did bleed the second time. This was the first time such a thing happened to P2, and when asked specifically, P2 confirmed that Twana H.S. inserted one of his body parts into P2. P2 also told the Court that this only happened once, but that Twana H.S. had slept by her two or three times. The Court inquired what P2 meant when she said that Twana H.S. slept by her. P2 then described the first evening after she had been bought by Twana H.S., where she was asleep until Twana H.S. woke her up by hitting her on the soles of her feet. There were two or three more situations where Twana H.S. sexually assaulted her, P2 recalled. On one occasion, Twana H.S. told P2 that he had already assaulted P1 and now only P2 was left over. When the Court asked in which language Twana H.S. said this, describing the situation once again, Twana H.S. laughed drawing glares by Asia R.A. and his own Defense Counsel Kämpf. Under tears, P2 described how Twana H.S. rubbed against her until he orgasmed. P2 then described another incident, where Asia R.A. put make up on her, and P2 was then led to the room upstairs. There, Twana H.S. stripped P2, gave her pomegranate seeds, pressed her onto the bed and put his genitals in P2. P2 bled for two to three days afterwards and had trouble standing. P2 highlighted that it was the first time such a thing happened to her.
The Court then asked what Twana H.S. did on the occasion when he hit P2 on the soles. P2 answered that he did not put “the thing” in, but he did other things. Twana H.S. grinned and shook his head in response. Upon further questioning by the Court, P2 explained that Twana H.S. did not put anything in her on this occasion but instead rubbed himself on her. This was the same occasion when Twana H.S. told P2 that he had slept with P1 beforehand. P1 was sleeping near P2 at this point. P2 met Asia R.A. the next day. She did not tell Asia R.A. what Twana H.S. had done the day before, as P1 had told her that Asia R.A. would get mad if she did.
The Court then wanted to ask P2 about a specific section in her interview with UNITAD, but the Defense Team of Twana H.S. objected to the question. In their opinion, the section had not been read completely. The Court conceded to read the section anew, asking P2 if there had been a third time when Twana H.S. assaulted her. Twana H.S. quietly mumbled that the situation they were talking about was the fourth time. No one in Court reacted to this comment. P2 said that there had been a time when Twana H.S. slept with P1, where P2 had her back turned because she was afraid. In case P1 cried, P2 could not hear her. The Court asked if P2 knew what exactly Twana H.S. had done with P1. Agitatedly, P2 answered that she did not know what exactly he was doing with her, but that P1 had said that Twana H.S. had been raping P1 for a long time and that he had “put in that thing” at least once. After being asked, she added that she did not know whether P1 had bled after this. This situation happened before Twana H.S. had assaulted P2 in the room upstairs, but after the first night when P2 had been awoken with being hit. This time, Twana H.S. had assaulted P2 as well; he had stripped P2 of her clothes, taken out his thing and finished. He did not insert anything into P2. P2 was not sure whether Twana H.S. had used a condom. P2 was about thirteen at the time. When the Court wanted to read a part of P2’s statement with UNITAD, the Defense of Twana H.S. objected that this part had not been translated by [redacted name], C3. The Court withdrew to deliberate.
***
[7-minutes-break]
***
The Court returned to the hearing only to dismiss P2 for the day, as she could not continue her testimony. P2 asked how many more days her testimony would take. The Presiding Judge acknowledged how hard this must be for her and told her that he hoped tomorrow would be her last day of testifying. If not, she would have to come back in January, but that she would get time to recuperate between the sessions. He reiterated that she could always take a break while testifying.
***
[6-minutes-break]
***
Following another short break, the Court returned to reiterate that it believed in the validity of the translation of the protocol of the UNITAD interview with P2. The Defense objected again. The Court and Defense Team proceeded to discuss which parts of the protocol should be retranslated by C3. Ultimately, the Defense gave the Court a list of parts they would like to be retranslated, which the Court agreed to.
The proceedings were adjourned at 12:41 PM.
The next trial day will be on December 19, 2025, at 9:30 AM.
Day 39 – December 19, 2025
On the second session of this week, Plaintiff [redacted name], P2, continued with her testimony. The Court started the hearing by handing out the re-translation of P2’s UNITAD interview transcript, which was done by the Court interpreter for Kurmanji, C3, upon request by the Defense and the Court.
Then, the Court resumed the questioning of the Plaintiff heard on the prior day, and wanted to first clarify if the Accused Abu Abdallah aka Twana H.S., used a condom when he “raped” P2. Yesterday, P2 had first said “yes,” then “no,” and during the UNITAD interview, she also said “no.” Right away, P2 confirmed that Abu Abdallah [Twana H.S.] did not use a condom. She further testified that she was not able to move freely during the act, as he bound her hands together. The Court then confronted the Plaintiff with an excerpt of the UNITAD interview transcript. The Defense of Twana H.S. interrupted the Court, complaining that this particular excerpt had not been re-translated by C3 and could thus not be used as a basis for said question. The Presiding Judge rejected the claim and deemed the question permissible, with the Prosecution agreeing, and Twana H.S.’s Defense requesting a Court order on this decision.
***
[15-minutes-break]
***
After the Court consulted during the break, the Presiding Judge read the Court order, which mirrored its previous statement and specified that the Defense missed to present any examples of mistranslation of the UNITAD interview transcript to the Court. The Court then returned to the questioning, and P2 testified that her hands were tied up during the “rape.” After the Court explained P2 what cable ties were, which P2 at first did not know, she then immediately testified that Abu Abdallah indeed tied up her hands with them. Further, the Plaintiff mentioned that she bled for about two days, then asked Um Abdallah, aka Asia R.A., for medical assistance but was rejected, as P2 was only allowed to “put new clothes on.”
The Court then showed interest in any weapons P2 might have seen in the Accused’s house. P2 recalled that Abu Abdallah had “a PKC weapon [a PK machine gun], things that explode, two guns that one wears around the shoulder, and a gun to wear” in a wooden box in his house. Additionally, the Plaintiff knew of an explosive belt that every ISIS member owned, as well as short but very sharp knives, “since whenever someone stole, ISIS cut their hands off.” An AK-47 or “Kalashnikov,” as the Court asked, P2 did not know of. When Abu Abdallah bought the Plaintiff, he carried two small pistols with him. This is why P2 knew, as she claimed, that he regularly left the house with his weapons on. To specific questions by the Court, P2 further testified that she was regularly hit whenever she made a mistake, often with a stick, which is why she was “very scared” to make mistakes. The Plaintiff recalled one time when Um Abdallah forced P2 to massage Abu Abdallah's feet. When P2 did not want to do this, she was hit and forced out of the room, as she was “not allowed to cry in their presence.” Sometimes, Abu Abdallah hit P2 with a cleaning mop, she additionally testified.
Upon further questioning, the Plaintiff added that she did not speak to anyone of her family about her upcoming testimony, that she only knew that [redacted name], P1, lived at “[redacted name]”, F115’s family after Abu Abdallah sold her off, and that after she became free, she never spoke with the Yazidi girls [redacted name], F29 or [redacted name], F33 again.
The Court then inquired about P1 and asked if P2 ever saw the Accused hitting her, to which the Plaintiff responded that she had always only been told by P1 about it. The Court attempted to give P2 specific examples of violence against P1 at hand, partially from P2’s UNITAD interview transcript, which she, however, did not remember. The Defense Team of Twana H.S. objected to the reading of the protocol again, which the Court rejected with an identical order and argumentation as previously.
Subsequently, Plaintiff Counsel von Wistinghausen began her questioning, while Plaintiff Counsel Ms. Mehner moved to now sit next to the Plaintiff. In response, P2 testified that she was named “[redacted name]” by the Accused, which she “did not like, because with [her] name, they took the last of [her].” The Plaintiff added that she was almost jealous of the other women and girls that regularly came to the Accused’s home, as they had a mother and were able to enjoy a proper childhood: “Iraqi, Syrians, Saudis – why is my life being old and being bought?” P2 specified: “I was a child, but they made me a woman.” Then, P2 testified that she was not allowed to speak Kurmanji in the Accused’s household, was called a “nonbeliever,” for example, right before Abu Abdallah “raped” her, that she had to pray during all five Islamic prayer times, even in the middle of the night, and that she had to say the Shahada [note: the Islamic declaration of faith; the first pillar of Islam], which the Plaintiff subsequently said out loud in Court. Counsel von Wistinghausen then asked P2 directly if Abu Abdallah had inserted his penis into her vagina.As on the prior day, P2 only testified that he had “inserted things.” She responded to the question with a short “yes.” After several questions and answers that were similar to P2’s testimony from the day prior, she then explained that her two older brothers were all killed by ISIS right when they were separated from one another. P2 recalled that her cousin told her that. Next, the Plaintiff testified that she also knew that ISIS sent all Yazidis with disabilities and the elderly to Kurdistan, as “they were of no use.” The Plaintiff Counsel further asked if Abu Abdallah knew that P2 had not been “raped” before, which the Plaintiff responded with, “Yes, I think he knew.” P2 added that [redacted name], F110, probably had told him, but she herself “did not know what rape was and did not know that blood comes during it.” When von Wistinghausen asked what P2 told UNITAD about the reason for Abu Abdallah’s “rape,” she answered, “So that I am no virgin anymore.”
Plaintiff Counsel Mehner continued and asked what P2 had heard about the role of Sabayas from the ISIS men. The Plaintiff responded that it would be allowed to “rape” and hit them, that they would be slaves and are allowed to be killed, as God has not created them as believers. “I was a nonbeliever,” she added, and that Abu Abdallah, but also every other ISIS man, would have told her that. P2 then cited a Surah from the Quran – according to her, which Court interpreter for Arabic [redacted name], C1 translated as, “What one gets, one should believe.” P2 quickly added that “all this injustice and violence is part of the Quran.” Without addressing the Court, the Defense of Asia R.A. followed with the comment that this interpretation must be incorrect. Counsel Mehner then asked about a possible minimum age for Sabaya, which P2 responded with “six or seven years old,” which she knew as Um Abdallah claimed that there were younger girls than the Plaintiff that got “raped.”
After this, the Court returned to questions and wanted to know how the two Accused got along with each other. P2 testified that they always seemed friendly with each other and that Abu Abdallah “really liked” his own daughter. Abu Abdallah was someone, according to the Plaintiff, who quickly got mad at things and demanded apologies from people. “He never apologized,” the Plaintiff shouted. Then, P2 was unable to reply to the question of how Abu Abdallah reacted when he witnessed or was told by P2 that she was in pain.
The psychological expert [redacted name], E4, who will write an expert report on P2’s mental state after her testimony, then only asked the question if any other ISIS men P2 lived under ever changed her name, which the Plaintiff responded with, “No, only those two.” Expert on child and adolescent psychiatry [redacted name], E1, who will give an assessment of Asia R.A’s mental state, subsequently took over to ask what Um Abdallah’s general mood was when P2 lived under her. P2 responded that the Accused was “very cheerful, traditionally Kurdish, and did her make up often.” Also, she was very affectionate with her and Abu Abdallah’s daughter. However, she did not like his wish to marry another wife. E1 then asked if Um Abdallah ever told the Plaintiff about the second wife her father had, which P2 denied.
Then, the ISIS expert [redacted name], E3 asked his questions, which revolved around the specific types of weapons P2 witnessed on Abu Abdallah. According to the Plaintiff, he wore a belted vest with two pistols around his chest and sometimes covered his face with a “beanie that only keeps the eyes free.” Sometimes, he covered his face with a scarf, the Plaintiff testified. Once again, P2 then specified that Abu Abdallah fought as a member of ISIS, but that she did not know what he specifically was responsible for. The Plaintiff had no answer to E3’s question if she had heard if Abu Abdallah worked for the police. P2 was also not able to recognize the word “Kalashnikov” or “Hobsia” [term unclear], which E3 explained as the way how ISIS called it. Furthermore, P2 did not remember the title of the nasheed [Islamic chant, hym, song] Abu Abdallah was playing during the “rape” act, but was able to testify that he played several, one of which was a “hymn by ISIS.” P2 then mentioned that she does not know if Abu Abdallah received specific money from ISIS to pay for her child support, but underlined that ISIS did support him financially in some regard. E3 then turned to questions on [redacted name], F111, who built weapons, specifically “AKMs”, according to the Plaintiff. Both him and “[redacted name]”, F115, seemed important within ISIS but were on the same level and had no bodyguards. F111 also wore guns and an explosive belt, according to the Plaintiff. E3 then wanted to know where [redacted name], F110 was from, which P2 answered with “[redacted location].” F110 was [redacted information] years old and also an ISIS member, as “only ISIS members were allowed to get Yezidi girls; the most important could choose a new one every week, the lesser important ones not so often.”
***
[65-minutes-break]
***
After the lunch break, the Defense Team of Twana H.S. started their questioning. In response to plenty of detailed questions on Abu Abdallah’s face coverings, the Plaintiff testified that he did not always go out of the house with his face covered but that P2 couldn’t find a regular wearing pattern, that he did, however, almost always have weapons on him when he stepped outside, and that he rather wore a cloth instead of a beanie on his head. The Plaintiff then complained about stomach aches, but was able to continue the testimony. P2 soon went on with answering the Defense’s request to describe the weapon box she had seen in Abu Abdallah’s house. P2 specified that Abu Abdallah’s weapons rested in a wooden box in Abu and Um Abdallah’s room [note: P2 made gestures with her hands to demonstrate the size of the box, which the trial monitor interpreted as roughly 1x1x1 meters in size.]. P2 added that Abu Abdallah closed the box, but did not lock it. Further, P2 did not know the pattern of when Abu Abdallah took his explosive belt out of the house, but saw it outside of the weapon box and on him several times.
The Defense then wanted to specify the chronological order of the sexual acts against the Plaintiff and assumed that the “rape” already started on the first night of P2 living under the Accused. The Plaintiff Counsel corrected that the first night was dominated by Abu Abdallah hitting P2’s soles and then rubbing himself against her body, which P2 subsequently confirmed. The Defense of Twana H.S. then urged the Plaintiff to repeat her full experiences of the first night with Abu Abdallah. When the Plaintiff concluded a long testimony that exactly mirrored her testimony from trial day 36 [for the details of this testimony, see Trial Report #19] with “he undressed me, touched me everywhere and sexually abused me,” the Presiding Judge Dr. Stoll criticized the Defense for asking the Plaintiff questions that would lead to a repetition of her previous testimony. The Prosecution then noted that it appeared as a strange tactic to always ask comparative questions based on the UNITAD interview transcript of P2, which the Defense of Twana H.S. had previously criticized extensively. After a lengthy discussion between the Defense, the Court, the Plaintiff Counsel and the Prosecution, Twana H.S.’s Defense wondered why P2 had not mentioned the beatings of her soles as part of her first “sexual abuse” experience to UNITAD. Furthermore, in front of UNITAD, the Plaintiff had commented to the act of “rape” in Abu Abdallah’s room that it had been “the first time.” The Defense told the Court that they were confused about the timeline of the “sexual abuse” and needed to ask further questions to verify it. The Presiding Judge responded that this timeline had been sufficiently cleared up by the Plaintiff. Still, another heated discussion erupted on this question, in which P2 was not involved, but started to cry. Finally, the Court agreed that the order of sexual abuse must have been: first, the “sexual abuse” after Abu Abdallah’s beatings on P2’s soles; then, the “rape” in Abu Abdallah’s room; and finally, the “sexual abuse” where P1 was in the room and had just before been “abused” by the Accused.
***
[15-minutes-break]
***
Following a break, the Plaintiff Counsel entered the room without her client and said that P2 was not fit to be examined anymore and too emotionally affected by the previous discussions of the Court. The Court subsequently decided that the Plaintiff will be summoned for one more trial day, on January 8, 2026, and that the Presiding Judge will not allow any more questions on the timeline of P2’s “sexual abuse.” Finally, the Court announced that after the completion of P2’s testimony, [redacted information] will testify.
The proceedings were adjourned at 2:50 PM.
The next trial day will be on January 8, 2026, at 9:30 AM.
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