A Dutch court has begun hearing the case of an 18-year-old girl allegedly killed by her father and two brothers for adopting what her family considered a “Western lifestyle.”
Prosecutors say the victim, Ryan Al Najjar, was targeted after she stopped wearing a headscarf, interacted with male friends and became active on social media — behaviours her family allegedly viewed as dishonourable.
According to Dutch outlet NL Times, Ryan’s body was discovered on May 28, 2024, nearly a week after she vanished from her family home in Joure, northern Netherlands. Investigators believe she was murdered shortly after midnight on May 22.
Prosecutors allege that her brothers, Mohamed, 23, and Muhanad, 25, picked her up in Rotterdam the night before the killing and took her to a remote area, where their father, Khaled, 53, later joined them. DNA recovered from beneath Ryan’s fingernails reportedly links the father to the crime scene.
Authorities say Khaled fled to Syria immediately after the killing, leaving his sons behind. “He fled and left his sons to take the blame. It is cowardly,” the prosecutor told the court. “Khaled has completely destroyed his family.”
Dutch officials say efforts to extradite him have been complicated by his marriage to a Syrian woman.
The father is also said to have emailed Dutch media outlets confessing to the killing while insisting that his sons were innocent.
Prosecutors are seeking a 25-year prison sentence for the father and 20-year terms for each of the brothers. Defense lawyers are expected to present their arguments on Monday. A verdict is scheduled for January 5, 2026.
Authorities have described the incident as an “honor killing,” calling it a form of femicide that has no place in Dutch society.
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