Honour killings in Zierikzee despite numerious warnings
By The Holland Times Tuesday 09 March 2010, 10:03
The Zierikzee man who shot his two children dead wanted to commit honour killings, Public Prosecutor (OM) announced Monday. On Sunday, the man succeeded in killing two of his three children.
In a closed session, the OM said the man had come under investigation in December for trying to arrange for a firearm to shoot his wife. The OM also revealed the man was taken into custody in early February for reported sexual abuse of his 19-year-old daughter.
The Iraqi man was released on 24 February and forbidden to see his family or travel to Zierikzee. On Sunday, the man voilated these conditions when the shot both is daughter and his 9-year-old son in their home. He also left his wife severely beaten.
According to the OM, the evidence against the man surrounding both the abuse case and charges of gun posession were too thin to appeal for a more severe sentence. "To appeal, you risk that the court says the case is so thin that they do not even take the man into custody," said the prosecutor. "In this case, restrictive conditions could no longer be held against the man."
Despite the court measures, both Zierikzee authorities and Mayor Geraard Rabelink knew the family was in danger. On 27 January, Rabelink said in a letter to the OM that police as well as various care institutions had tried to move the family to alternative housing, but they refused.
Their refusal to cooperate made it difficult for Zierikzee authorities to protect the family, said Rabelink.
Since 1 February, however the family had been under security watch. According to a spokesperson for the OM, the details of the security detail were unknown. "I assume that security was implemented securely," said the spokesperson. "We have never had a reported violation of the ban on contact or the restraining order."
After the shootings, which occured on Oesterstraat, the man was found dead in a nearby park from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. A third child from the family was found safe at a neighbour's home following the incident.
