An 18-year-old teenager who was killed by drowning was found in a canal in a town in the Netherlands with 18 meters of tape tied to her body in May 2024, in what prosecutors believe is a case of honor killing.
The Public Prosecution Service of the Netherlands made this report on February 5th after the third preliminary hearing in the case against the victim’s brothers, 23-year-old Mohamed al-Najjar and 25-year-old Muhanad al-Najjar.
They were accused of murdering 18-year-old Ryan, along with 52-year-old Khaled al-Najjar, a Syrian refugee and father of nine who confessed to killing his daughter to the Dutch news outlet, De Telegraaf.
Ryan’s body was found by an employee of the Staatbosbeheer in the Knardijk canal in Lelystad on May 28, 2024. Her father’s DNA material was found under the nails of her three fingers, a prosecutor told the court, indicating that “she had resisted." The Public Prosecution Service believes the teenager was thrown into the water alive and died by drowning.
Khaled’s DNA material was also found on the tape that bound Ryan’s hands and feet, as well as on several parts of the tape. The results of the investigation showed as well that Ryan’s shoes were taken off before her ankles were taped together. Her hands were also tied up in the back, and her mouth and nose were taped shut.
The Public Prosecution Service also reported that Khaled did most of the bounding. He is allegedly living in Syria currently. The prosecutor believes Ryan was either unconscious or restrained while being tied up. Both her phones were also thrown into the water, and a fingerprint from one of her brothers was found on a phone case in one of her shoes.
“The phone case found in the victim's left shoe contained a fingerprint belonging to her brother Mohamed,“ the prosecutor added.
The Public Prosecution Service believes Khaled, Mohamad, and Muhanad planned to kill Ryan because they thought she was acting too Western. Neighbors and friends said her murder was a result of an honor killing, with one claiming they previously sheltered her when she fled her family home due to fear of retribution from her father.
They also said Ryan had a Dutch boyfriend, wanted to stop wearing a headscarf, and had been beaten by her father, who disagreed with her adoption of a Western lifestyle. While Khaled admitted to killing Ryan in an email with De Telegraaf, Mohamad and Muhanad denied involvement in the crime.
However, the prosecutor quoted chat conversations between members of the family just days before the murder. A conversation was found on Muhanad’s phone between his brother and their father.
"If she is lying and causing us to lose even more face, she must be punished,” the brother said 12 days before the murder.
The Public Prosecution Service said the family wished for Ryan to die because she was acting too Western, with chat messages from the members saying, “I hope that she comes back in a box,“ and “She needs a bullet in her heart and poison in her body.“
Ryan’s mother also had no problem with her death, saying, "God willing, we will see her wrapped in a shroud. Ryan is a disgrace to the family and deserves to die."
The case will be heard at the end of the year.
