Honour killing in Holland: Migrant father guilty of drowning daughter

Published: 05 January 2025
The English Chronicle Desk
The English Chronicle Online

A migrant father has been found guilty of an honour killing in Holland after tying up and drowning his 18-year-old daughter in a remote swamp because he believed her “Western behaviour” had shamed their family. The case, which has deeply shocked the Netherlands, has reignited national debate over honour-based violence, coercive family control, and the protection of vulnerable young women.

Khaled al Najjar, 53, was sentenced in absentia to 30 years in prison after a Dutch court concluded he orchestrated and carried out the killing of his daughter Ryan, whose body was discovered bound and gagged in a nature reserve near Lelystad. Najjar fled the Netherlands just hours after her body was found and is believed to be hiding in Syria, beyond the reach of Dutch authorities.

The court also convicted Najjar’s two sons, Mohamed, 23, and Muhanad, 25, sentencing them to 20 years each for their roles in the crime. Only Muhanad was present in court when the verdict was delivered. Dressed in a beige hoodie, he stood silently as the judge read out her findings before declaring, as the hearing ended, that he would “clear his name”.

Judges ruled that Khaled al Najjar had tied up his daughter, strangled her and left her to die in the water at the Oostvaardersplassen nature reserve, an isolated area east of Amsterdam. The written judgment stated that at least one of his sons was present at the scene where Ryan was restrained and ultimately ended up in the swamp.

While the court said it could not definitively establish the precise role played by both brothers, it ruled this uncertainty was “irrelevant to the question of guilt”. The judges concluded that both sons were fully aware of what was planned and knowingly transported their sister to the location where she would be killed.

Ryan disappeared from her family home on May 22, 2024. Six days later, her body was discovered by a passerby in shallow water, her hands bound behind her back and her mouth gagged. The condition of her body, prosecutors said, left no doubt that she had been deliberately restrained and killed.

Forensic evidence played a key role in securing the convictions. Investigators found DNA belonging to her father under Ryan’s fingernails, indicating she had fought for her life. Prosecutors told the court that the teenager had been terrified, isolated and powerless in her final moments.

In an emotional address, the prosecutor asked the court to consider what Ryan must have felt as she faced her death. She was alone in the darkness, far from help, in a place chosen precisely because no one would hear her cries.

Evidence presented during the trial revealed that Ryan had been living under strict control at home for years. Prosecutors said her family disapproved of her adopting what they described as a Western lifestyle. She was accused of mixing with boys, refusing to wear a headscarf, using social media and expressing independence.

The immediate trigger for the killing, prosecutors argued, was a live TikTok video in which Ryan appeared without a headscarf and wearing makeup. Messages recovered from family phones suggested the broadcast caused intense anger and humiliation within the household, with relatives describing it as a public disgrace.

Investigators described a long pattern of intimidation and emotional control within the family, portraying Ryan’s behaviour as a betrayal that dishonoured her relatives. Prosecutors said the murder was not spontaneous but the culmination of escalating threats and surveillance.

The brothers maintained throughout the trial that they were innocent and claimed their father acted alone. Muhanad’s lawyer, Johan Mühren, said there was no direct evidence linking his client to the act of killing and confirmed that an appeal would be lodged.

Mühren told reporters that his client believed he was simply helping his sister return home and persuade her to apologise to their father. According to the defence, Ryan was told everything would be resolved peacefully. The court rejected this account.

Judges ruled that the brothers picked Ryan up in Rotterdam and drove her to the isolated reserve fully aware of what awaited her. Shortly after midnight, she was killed.

Further controversy surrounded Khaled al Najjar’s actions after the crime. Prosecutors revealed he sent two emails to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf claiming responsibility for the killing while insisting his sons were innocent. The court dismissed the emails as an attempt to shield his children and evade justice.

The verdict has been widely welcomed by women’s rights groups and victim advocates, who say the case highlights the hidden dangers faced by young women trapped in abusive family environments. Campaigners have called for stronger early intervention systems and better protection for those at risk of honour-based violence.

Dutch officials said the case underscores the importance of recognising warning signs of coercive control and cultural isolation. While honour killings remain rare in the Netherlands, authorities acknowledge that cases are often underreported and difficult to detect until it is too late.

Ryan’s death has left a lasting impact on the community and sparked renewed calls for education, outreach and support services aimed at preventing similar tragedies. Advocates argue that honour-based abuse must be treated as a serious criminal threat, not a private family matter.

As the court adjourned, the judge noted that Ryan’s life had been taken because she dared to live freely. The ruling described her killing as a deliberate and calculated act designed to erase perceived shame through violence.

Although Khaled al Najjar remains at large, Dutch prosecutors said they will continue efforts to secure his arrest should he ever return to Europe. International arrest warrants remain in force.

For many, the conviction offers a measure of justice, but it cannot undo the loss of a young woman whose only crime was asserting her independence. Ryan’s name now stands as a stark reminder of the deadly consequences of honour-based violence in modern Europe.