Ex-husband & three family members convicted in gruesome honor killing in Apeldoorn
Court has sentenced four men to 25 years in prison for the murder of Roshin, a 28-year-old Apeldoorn woman. The court found that the men—two brothers and two cousins of the victim—conspired to kill her because they believed she had dishonored the family. One of the cousins, 37-year-old Ahmad A., was also her ex-husband. When the verdict was read in the Arnhem courtroom, 36-year-old suspect Peshang A. tried to run off, but was restrained by officials, according to ANP.
The court emphasized the brutality of the crime, stating that "a more horrific end to a human life is hardly imaginable." The woman's young daughter witnessed the attack, an experience the court described as deeply traumatizing. “The child lost everything she knew in an instant. She must now continue her life without her mother,” the court stated.
The woman was walking with her three-year-old daughter on the Casper Fagelstraat in Apeldoorn on September 5, 2023, when she was attacked. Her eldest brother, Peshang, stabbed her 28 times, killing her at the scene. The 36-year-old confessed to the murder. The Gelderland District Court in Arnhem ruled that all four men were guilty of murder and of planning the attack in advance.
When police placed the daughter in a car after the attack, the child said, “Mama, ouch.” She then also reportedly looked down at her legs, which were covered in her mother’s blood, and said to the officer, “Yuck, yuck.”
The two other men Roshin's younger brother, 28-year-old Ahmad A. who was living in Voorburg at the time. The older man by the same name was living in Germany along with the fourth suspect, 27-year-old Walid A.
According to prosecutors, Roshin had left her ex-husband and chosen to live independently instead of moving in with her parents, as is customary in some conservative Syrian families. She had also begun a relationship with a married man.
Intercepted messages between the suspects revealed their disdain. "Roshin does whatever she wants. She deserves to be cut into pieces and thrown away, whether we are in Europe or not," one message read.
Her ex-husband also allegedly wrote, "If the girl [their daughter] wasn’t there, I would have strangled her already."
The suspects justified the murder as necessary to "wash away" the dishonor Roshin had brought to the family. Her mother also reportedly called her a "whore" in messages, reinforcing the family’s belief that she had tarnished their reputation.
During the trial, the eldest brother denied premeditation, claiming he had acted impulsively under the influence of cocaine. "I was angry. Nobody told me to do it," he said.
But prosecutors presented the audio recordings and text messages between the four suspects to detail their planning. They discussed acquiring a knife, surveilling Roshin's home, and deciding on her fate. The eldest brother was chosen to carry out the killing so the others could claim innocence. They even agreed to collectively cover any legal expenses.
According to audio and chat messages exchanged between the men, it was clear they had already jointly taken the position that the woman had to die, the court ruled. In July 2023, they traveled together to Apeldoorn with the intention of murdering her. However, when they were unable to locate her, they abandoned the plan. Two months later, they returned and carried out the attack.
The court rejected arguments that only the eldest brother was responsible for the killing. “The men deliberately worked together in both planning and executing the murder,” the ruling stated.
Further, the judges said they found no evidence that the men considered the consequences for the child. “Their honor weighed more than the life of the woman and the impact on her daughter.” The men were also ordered to pay the child 70,000 euros in damages.
Because of the premeditated nature of the crime and its extreme violence, the court determined that only a lengthy prison sentence was appropriate. Each of the four men received 25 years, matching the prosecution’s demand.
