Dutch prosecutors are demanding up to 25 years in prison for a Muslim father and his two sons who allegedly committed a brutal honor killing. They are accused of drowning 18-year-old Ryan Al Najjar because her “Western” behavior brought shame to their strict family. This is a terrifying example of cultural conflict brought on by unchecked migration.
Ryan Al Najjar’s body was found submerged in a lake near Joure, Netherlands, with her hands and feet tightly bound. Officials say her father and two brothers allegedly targeted her for refusing to wear a headscarf in public.
The Public Prosecution Service said the men saw the young woman as a moral liability. “They saw Ryan as a burden that had to be removed,” the Public Prosecution Service said Friday. “Just because she was a young woman who wanted to live her own life.”
The immediate catalyst for the horrific murder was a simple social media post. Prosecutors confirmed, “The immediate cause of her death appears to be a live video on TikTok, showing Ryan without a headscarf and wearing makeup.”
The video reportedly “seriously embarrasses the family” as it did not fit their “traditional views.” Her male relatives allegedly convinced her to come with them to a remote location the night before the murder.
Authorities say the family took her to a remote park where “no one for miles around could have heard her” cries for help. Evidence shows signs of both strangulation and drowning. They used approximately 60 feet of tape to bind her before she was thrown into the water alive.
The father, Khaled Al Najjar, is accused of orchestrating the killing. Investigators found Khaled’s DNA under his daughter’s fingernails, suggesting he was present during the brutal act.
Prosecutors reported that Khaled “fled to Syria immediately after the murder and left his sons to take the blame. Cowardly.” The prosecution concluded that “Khaled has completely destroyed his family.”
The Public Prosecution Service has asked for a 25-year prison sentence for the cowardly father and 20 years for each of the two brothers. The Dutch court is scheduled to issue its ruling in the brutal case on January 5.