Dutch prosecutors on Friday called for a Muslim father and his two sons to receive prison sentences of up to 25 years for allegedly drowning their 18-year-old relative, whom they believed had brought shame on the family due to her “Western” behaviour.
The body of Syrian teenager Ryan Al Najjar was discovered on 28 May 2024 in a lake near Joure, in the northern Netherlands. Her hands and feet had been tightly bound.
She had been missing for six days. Authorities later arrested her father and her two brothers — then aged 22 and 24 — and charged them over her killing, which prosecutors believe occurred on 22 May.
“They saw Ryan as a burden that had to be removed,” the Public Prosecution Service said on Friday. “All because she was a young woman who wanted to live her own life.”
Officials said the suspects, described as coming from a “strict” Islamic household, allegedly killed Ryan because they believed she was behaving “too Western”. She had reportedly been targeted after refusing to wear a headscarf in public.
According to prosecutors, the immediate trigger for the crime was a TikTok livestream showing Ryan without a headscarf and wearing make-up. The video, they said, “seriously embarrassed the family” and clashed with their conservative views.
Once aware of the video, her brothers allegedly travelled to Rotterdam, persuaded her to accompany them to a remote location, and drove her to Knardijk, where their father joined them. “There she was killed,” prosecutors said.
Local media NL Times identified the brothers as Mohamed Al Najjar and Muhanad, and their 53-year-old father as Khaled. All three were charged with murder, while Khaled was additionally accused of orchestrating the killing before fleeing to Syria.
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Investigators believe Ryan was taken to an isolated park “where no one for miles could have heard her” cries for help. Evidence indicated she had been strangled and drowned, and that about 60 feet of tape had been used to restrain her before she was thrown into the water alive.
DNA belonging to Khaled was reportedly found beneath her fingernails, suggesting he was present during the attack.
Prosecutors noted that Khaled fled to Syria immediately after the murder, leaving his sons to face the consequences. “Cowardly. Khaled has completely destroyed his family,” the Public Prosecution Service said.
Authorities added that extraditing him may prove difficult, as he has since married a woman in Syria.
Prosecutors recommended a 25-year jail term for the father and 20-year sentences for each of the brothers.
The court is expected to deliver its ruling on 5 January.
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