A migrant father who tied up and drowned his daughter in a sickening honour killing has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. Cowardly Khaled al Najjar, 53, fled the Netherlands hours after the body of his 18-year-old daughter Ryan had been discovered in water at an isolated nature reserve in the town of Lelystad, around 40 miles northeast of Amsterdam.

Dutch police had previously released an image of Ryan, wearing a blue hijab and make-up, after they launched a murder investigation when her remains where found in May, 2024. Al-Najjir's two sons, Mohamed, 23, and Muhanad, 25, were also found guilty for their part in their sister's death, and were given 20 years each. Only Muhanad was in court to hear the sentence. Both had previously denied any part in Ryan's murder.

The sentence handed to Khaled is understood to be five years longer than recommended by Dutch prosecutors and is the highest possible term for someone in the Netherlands convicted of less than one murder. Khaled may never serve the judgement as he is hiding in Syria, which has no extradition treaty in place with the Netherlands.

De Telegraaf reports, the judge said it was "indigestible and incomprehensible" that a father would kill his own daughter, adding: "He talks a lot about honour, but has not taken any responsibility."

The court heard Ryan was picked up by her two brothers from a friend's house in Rotterdam in May 2024, after they lied and told her they would protect her from her angry father. However, the pair were actually receiving instructions from Khaled who ordered them to find deep water and to weigh down their sister's body and "let the fish eat her".

It was said Muhanad was present when the brothers brought Ryan to her father who was lying in wait to kill her. She was strangled, tied up with tape on her ankles and wrists and her a patch over her mouth. She died after drowning in the water at a nature reserve near Knardijk.

DNA and phone record evidence linked both Khaled and Muhanad to the killing and a court heard "She didn't stand a chance against three grown men."

Ryan's younger sibling Mohamed stayed with the cars the men had driven to the remote location, but the court judged this did not make his role in her death any less serious.

The court in Lelystad heard father and brothers were only concerned with fabricating a story around Ryan's disappearance and with covering their own tracks. Police found they did not try and call their missing sister because "they knew she couldn't answer".

Khaled had previously denied his sons were involved with Ryan's murder but the Dutch judge took a dim view of this, stating: "The court strongly suspects that Khaled is taking the blame from a distant foreign country to shield the brothers from harm."