Two Arrests on Suspicion of Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes as well as Membership in the Foreign Terrorist Organisation ‘Islamic State’ (IS)

Year of issue 2024
Date 2024.04.10

Yesterday, on 9 April 2024, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office had agents of the Federal Criminal Police Office arrest the Iraqi nationals

Twana H. S. and
Asia R. A.

in Regensburg and in Roth County (Landkreis Roth), in execution of arrest warrants of 19 March 2024 issued by the Investigating Judge at the Federal Court of Justice.

The individuals are strongly suspected of genocide (section 6 para. 1 of the German Code of Crimes against International Law [VStGB]), crimes against humanity (section 7 para. 1 VStGB) and war crimes against persons (section 8 para. 1 VStGB). In this context, they are also alleged to have been members in a foreign terrorist organisation (section 129a para. 1 no. 1 of the German Criminal Code [StGB], section 129b para. 1 sentences 1 and 2 StGB).

In essence, the arrest warrant sets out the following facts:

Twana H. S. and Asia R. A. were married according to Islamic law and were members of the foreign terrorist organisation ‘Islamic State’ in Iraq and Syria between October 2015 and December 2017. They held a then five-year-old Yazidi girl as a slave since no later than late 2015. Since October 2017, they enslaved a then twelve-year-old Yazidi girl as well. Twana H. S. repeatedly raped both children. To this end, Asia R. A. prepared the room and put make-up on one of the girls. Furthermore, the suspects exploited the slaves economically by consistently coercing them into household work and childcare. They prohibited the girls from practising their own religion; instead, they had to follow the suspects’ instructions regarding Islamic prayers and belief. Twana H. S. and Asia R. A. applied harsh physical violence to the detriment of the children in case of alleged mistakes. On one occasion, Twana H. S. hit the older girl with a broomstick. Asia R. A. scalded the younger girl’s hand with hot water and repeatedly forced both children to stand on one leg for a half hour each, as a form of punishment. Prior to their departure from Syria in November 2017, the suspects handed over the girls to other members of the ‘Islamic State’. All of this served the organisation’s objective to destroy the Yazidi religion.

On 9 and 10 April 2024, the suspects were brought before the Investigating Judge at the Federal Court of Justice who read out the arrest warrants to them and ordered that they be placed in pre-trial detention.