Dutch prosecutor places murderer Fathi Atiya on National Search List

Victoria Retsjkina
born: 1976
stabbed to death: 4 November 2015
Residence: Hoevelaken, Netherlands Origin: Victim: Russia, Perpetrator: Libya
Children: 6
Perpetrator: Fathi Atiya (39 years old at the time of the murder)
Around the year 2000 Fathi Atiya came from Libya to the Netherlands. Fathi comes from Bir Al-Ghanam, a village in the Libyan province of Zawiya, a 1.5 hour drive from the capital Tripoli.

In the Netherlands he met Victoria Retsjkina, originally from Russia. Together they have five children and live in Hoevelaken. On his facebook page Fathi alternates films of violence in the Middle East and of extreme islamic organizations with photographs of his children playing and images of himself during political meetings.

In 2013, the family goes on vacation to Fathi's native village in Libya. He pretends that the papers of his two eldest daughters are suddenly lost and he leaves the girls with relatives. It would be a year before they returned to Hoevelaken.

By then Victoria has already ended the relationship with Fatih. As of July 2014, Fathi is in pre-trial detention for 3 months on suspicion of kidnapping his children. Fathi threatened that "if he could not have the children, Victoria would not either".

Fatih is said to have secretly looked into his ex-wife's computer and found chat conversations with a man. That would have hurt his pride. To the children he asked for help to get back together with their mother.

On Wednesday afternoon, November 4, 2015, Fathi would go shopping with one of his oldest daughters in the center of Hoevelaken. Back at Victoria's home, Fathi asks the children to watch television upstairs. The children hear arguing and shouting. After an hour, the children go downstairs and find the body of their mother in the shed. The children alert the police and neighbors. Victoria was allegedly killed by Fathi with ten knife stabs.

After the murder Fathi fled. He probably resides in Libya, but it is also possible that he is - possibly under a different name - somewhere else.

Fatih was sentenced to 12 years in prison by the court in absentia in 2019. He was also sentenced to two years in prison for kidnapping his children to Libya.

In June 2022, Fathi was placed on the National Investigation List by Dutch authorities. The police ask people who have information or have seen Fathi to contact them.

What is an honour killing?

An honour killing is a murder in the name of honour. If a brother murders his sister to restore family honour, it is an honour killing. According to activists, the most common reasons for honour killings are as the victim:

Questions about honour killings

  • refuses to cooperate in an arranged marriage.

  • wants to end the relationship.

  • was the victim of rape or sexual assault.

  • was accused of having a sexual relationship outside of marriage.

Human rights activists believe that 100,000 honour killings are carried out every year, most of which are not reported to the authorities and some are even deliberately covered up by the authorities themselves, for example because the perpetrators are good friends with local policemen, officials or politicians. Violence against girls and women remains a serious problem in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Serbia and Turkey.

Geplaatst in Honor killing, Investigation.