A court in Bochum, located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, has sentenced a Syrian man and his two sons to life imprisonment after convicting them of murder in connection with an illegal money transfer scheme that shocked the city of Recklinghausen.
According to German media, the verdict was delivered a year after the crime, during which the perpetrators used a bladed weapon to kill the victim. The victim had sought the defendants’ help to transfer money to his family in Syria.
On September 23, 2023, a 31-year-old Syrian man collapsed, bleeding, in front of a house in Recklinghausen after suffering fatal stab wounds. The crime stemmed from a financial dispute between the victim and the defendants over an illegal money transfer of €600 intended for the victim’s family in Syria.
The victim had travelled from the Netherlands to Germany to confront the defendants and retrieve his money, but the confrontation ended in murder. The 55-year-old Syrian father and his two sons, aged 29 and 31, stabbed the victim after spraying him with tear gas.
Following the discovery of the crime, German police launched an investigation, arresting the defendants hours later. Interestingly, the perpetrators were not apprehended at the crime scene but at a police station, where one of the defendants attempted to file a report, claiming to be a victim of the altercation. He was subsequently placed in pretrial detention.
During the trial, the accused father denied involvement in the crime, while his sons refused to make any statements. However, the evidence was sufficient to convict all three. The court determined that the crime was premeditated and deliberate, sentencing the father and his sons to life imprisonment, with the motive behind the crime identified as deception and fraud.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
