A Dutch court on Thursday sentenced four men to 25 years for the “honor killing” of a woman stabbed to death in broad daylight in front of her three-year-old daughter.
The 28-year-old Roshin was stabbed 28 times by her elder brother as she walked with her daughter in the eastern Dutch city of Apeldoorn in September 2023.
“A more gruesome end to a human life is hard to imagine. Her daughter saw her mother killed in a very violent way,” according to the court verdict.
Alongside the 25-year sentence for the elder brother, identified as 36-year-old Peshang A., the court also sentenced another brother and two cousins for their part in the murder.
“The audio and chat messages that the men sent to each other show that they decided together that the victim had to die, because she violated the family’s honour,” said the court.
After the victim had divorced, the family wanted her to move in with her parents in The Hague, but she chose to stay in Apeldoorn with her daughter and started a new relationship.
“The four men then made preparations together to carry out that plan, deliberately keeping the rest of the family out of the execution plans,” according to the verdict.
Peshang A. reportedly tried to escape the court after the verdict, but was restrained by police.
The court also ordered the four men to pay $73,000 to the daughter.
“Honor killings” are especially common in Pakistan. Much of Pakistani society operates under a strict code of “honor,” with women beholden to their male relatives over choices around education, employment and who they can marry.
Last April, a Pakistani man who allegedly filmed his brother strangling their sister to death has been arrested as part of the latest “honor” killing that outraged the country.
In 2023, Pakistani authorities arrested four people who allegedly killed an 18-year-old woman in the purported name of “honor” after a picture of her sitting with a boyfriend went viral on social media,. Police said the photo had been doctored and posted on fake social media accounts.
There were 384 “honor killings” reported in 2022 alone, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
