Gergana Krasteva
Published November 28, 2025 11:01am
Updated November 28, 2025 11:25am
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Ryan Al Najjar’s killing has officially been designated an honour crime (Picture: Politie NL)
A teenage girl was gagged, tied up and thrown into a swamp to drown in an honour killing over her Western behaviour, a court in the Netherlands heard.
Ryan Al Najjar’s body was found gagged, with her hands bound behind her back and ankles taped together in a wetland in the city of Lelystad in May last year.
The 18-year-old had been missing for a week when a passerby discovered her submerged remains.
The Public Prosecution Service formally designated the teenager’s killing as an honour crime.
Her brothers, Mohamed, 23, and Muhanad Al Najjar, 25, have been put on trial for her murder, while her father, Khaled al-N, will be tried in absentia after fleeing to Syria.
Prosecutors accused him of ordering Ryan’s killing because she ‘brought shame to the family’ by behaving too ‘Western’ and dating.
DNA belonging to him was found under her fingernails, indicating that she had put up a fight.
The trial began on Thursday, but Ryan’s brothers blame their father for her death.
Khaled al-N allegedly sent two emails to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, confessing to her murder and saying that his sons were not involved.
But prosecutors dispute that version of events. They claim that he enlisted his sons to pick Ryan up, drive her to a remote location, and throw her weighted body into the water.
Mohamed and Muhanad Al Najjar were arrested soon after her body was found and have been in custody since.
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The victim’s family told Nieuwsuur they want her father to be tried in the Netherlands.
A statement by the Dutch Ministry of Justice, cited by the media outlet, said: ‘The possibilities for criminal cooperation with Syria are currently not available.
‘The criminal law authorities required for this cooperation are not (yet) operational in Syria.’
But Syrian justice minister Mazhar al-Wais said he has so far not received a request from Dutch authorities and that he is prepared to provide legal assistance in accordance with the regulations.
What is honour killing?
An honour killing is the murder of a person by members of their family or social group, who believe the victim has brought or may bring shame or dishonour upon the family or community.
In England and Wales, there were 2,949 honour-based abuse offences recorded by police in the year ending March 2025.
This represents a 7% increase compared with the year ending March 2024, when 2,755 offences were recorded.
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