A court in Munich convicted an Iraqi hairdresser, Twana H.S., of enslaving two Yazidi girls in Iraq, delivering a life sentence for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and child sexual abuse. His wife, Asia R. A., received a juvenile sentence of nine and a half years.
The Higher Regional Court held the couple guilty of membership in the Islamic State group and concluded that they had participated in a systematic campaign designed to destroy the Yazidi religion.
Twana H.S., who first arrived in Germany as an asylum seeker in the early 2000s, reportedly was radicalised in a Munich mosque before returning to Iraq in 2015. Prosecutors say he and his wife purchased five‑year‑old and twelve‑year‑old Yazidi girls at markets in Mosul and later subjected them to forced labour, religious oppression, beatings and repeated rapes.
When court was held, one victim described being abused and beaten; the second victim remains missing. Asia R. A. apologized, saying "I'm sorry" after her sentence was imposed, though Twana H.S. declined to speak in court.
The trial was conducted under Germany’s universal jurisdiction law, allowing prosecuting war‑related crimes that occurred abroad. The decision serves as a warning to those who facilitate or participate in sex‑slavery following the ISIS offensive in northern Iraq beginning in 2014.
