A Dutch court has handed down a 30-year prison sentence to Khaled al Najjar, 53, convicted of murdering his teenage daughter in what prosecutors described as an honour killing.
He remains a fugitive in Syria and was sentenced in absentia on Monday for the death of 18-year-old Ryan Al Najjar.
His two sons, Mohamed, 23, and Muhanad, 25, each received 20-year sentences for their roles in the killing.
The court found all three men guilty of the crime, which took place in May 2024.
The body of Ryan Al Najjar was discovered gagged, tied with tape and submerged in a swamp | POLITIE NETHERLANDSAl Najjar escaped the Netherlands within hours of his daughter's death, leaving his sons to face justice alone.
A prosecutor told the court: "Honour killings are completely unacceptable. This is a form of femicide."
Ryan's body was discovered on May 28 2024 in Lelystad, approximately 25 miles north-east of Amsterdam, six days after she was reported missing.
The young woman had been gagged, her hands bound behind her back and her ankles taped together before being submerged in a swamp within an isolated nature reserve.
The 18-year-old's body was found in the northern Dutch town of Joure
| WIKIMEDIA COMMONSAccording to an official court summary, Al Najjar restrained his daughter and strangled her before abandoning her body in the water.
The court heard that one of the brothers was present at the scene when Ryan died, though it did not specify which one.
Al Najjar fled from the family home in Joure to Syria, where Dutch media reports indicate he has since remarried and remains in hiding in the northern part of the country.
Prosecutors revealed that the killing appeared to have been sparked by a TikTok video in which Ryan was filmed without wearing a headscarf and with makeup on.
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Al Najjar fled from the family home in Joure to Syria
|GETTY
Messages exchanged between family members indicated the footage had caused embarrassment, violating their strict traditional values.
The court heard that Ryan had "humiliated her family" by socialising with boys, using social media and refusing to cover her head.
Investigators established that her murder followed a sustained pattern of intimidation and control within the household.
The young woman had previously received police protection, though this was withdrawn before her death. Authorities have not explained why the safeguarding measures ended.
Prosecutors painted a harrowing picture of Ryan's final moments: "What must she have feared. In the middle of the night, in complete darkness, in a completely isolated place."
Of the three convicted men, only Muhanad appeared at the sentencing hearing, wearing a beige hoodie. Mohamed chose to remain in custody rather than attend, according to court officials.
Following the verdict, Muhanad declared he would "clear his name", while his lawyer John Muhren announced plans to appeal.
"There is no direct evidence linking him to the crime," Mr Muhren said, adding that his client had merely collected his sister intending to take her home to apologise to their father.
Investigators recovered Al Najjar's DNA from beneath Ryan's fingernails, suggesting she fought back against her attacker.
The fugitive father allegedly sent two emails to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf accepting responsibility while maintaining his sons were innocent. Prosecutors dismissed these claims, arguing both brothers knowingly drove Ryan to her death.
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