0:00

Murder in the North, episode 24,

0:05

My Father Will Be to Blame.

0:11

When a 14-year-old girl is found floating

0:14

in Preisto Harbour, news

0:16

of her death doesn't come as a surprise

0:19

to those who knew her. The

0:21

police, her teachers, as

0:24

well as children's services have

0:26

tried their best to protect the girl.

0:29

But all their efforts turn out to be

0:32

in vain. Freya,

0:34

whose real name is Sanai, arrived

0:37

in Denmark at the age of nine. She's

0:40

intelligent, sociable and

0:42

mature for her age, and it doesn't

0:44

take her long to make friends with other children

0:47

her age and to adapt

0:49

to the local culture.

0:50

For some, it all happens

0:53

too fast. Her

0:55

parents, who are deeply religious Turkmens

0:58

from Iraq, see their daughter

1:00

transform from an obedient

1:02

girl into an independent

1:05

young woman.

1:06

And that causes friction. You're

1:13

listening to Murder in the North, a podcast about some

1:16

of the most shocking

1:19

criminal

1:24

cases in Scandinavia. Our

1:28

account of these cases is based on sources in

1:33

the

1:33

public domain, including interviews, press releases

1:35

and court proceedings. Some narrative

1:38

details were seen as irrelevant to the plot and therefore left out.

1:48

This

1:48

podcast series contains scenes of violence

1:51

that some listeners may find distressing. You're

1:54

listening to a true story, as

1:56

researched by Jana Argaard and

1:59

told by me, Janna Argaard.

1:59

In the early 1990s, Sinai's

2:06

father Ashraf desserts

2:11

the Iraqi army and flees to Istanbul.

2:15

A few years later, he's joined in Turkey

2:17

by his wife Sehaler and their

2:19

daughter. In 1996,

2:21

Ashraf leaves for Denmark, and

2:25

on arriving at Copenhagen Airport,

2:28

he applies for asylum.

2:30

He tells the authorities that he spent time

2:32

in an Iraqi prison following his

2:35

desertion, but that his wife managed

2:37

to free him by bribing a judge.

2:40

After 10 months in an asylum seeker's

2:43

center on the island of Bornholm, he's

2:46

granted asylum, and he applies

2:48

for family reunion. In 1997,

2:52

he welcomes his heavily pregnant wife

2:54

and his nine-year-old daughter, Sinai, in

2:56

Denmark. The

2:59

family is allocated a home in Prosto,

3:01

some 80 kilometers south of Copenhagen.

3:05

But the transition from a refugee

3:07

life to one in a Danish terrorist

3:10

house is anything but smooth.

3:13

In the autumn, Sinai starts primary

3:16

school. This is the first time

3:18

in her life she's ever been in

3:20

formal education.

3:23

And it takes her a while to get used to life

3:25

in a Danish school and to learn

3:27

a new language.

3:29

While in Turkey, she had taught herself

3:31

Turkish.

3:33

Soon, Sinai's behavior changes.

3:36

She doesn't want to play with dolls anymore and

3:39

starts behaving like a teenager. Her

3:43

teachers think that she may be older than

3:45

her parents claim she is.

3:49

In year eight, when Sinai turns 12, she

3:52

gets her period for the first time. That

3:55

now makes her an adult in her parents'

3:58

eyes.

3:59

wants her to stop going to school and

4:02

look after her little brother, who was

4:04

born shortly after they arrived in Denmark.

4:08

It leads to a conflict between her parents

4:10

and the school.

4:13

Sunai is smart, and eager

4:15

to learn, and now speaks fluent

4:17

Danish, yet her parents

4:19

want her to help out at home. While

4:26

Sunai may be lagging behind her peers

4:28

as far as schoolwork is concerned,

4:31

when it comes to life experience,

4:33

she is well ahead of them.

4:36

She thinks deeply about the meaning of religion,

4:39

wonders why there are multiple religions,

4:42

and whether some are more righteous than others.

4:46

She also often meets up with a boy

4:48

from another school,

4:50

but never mentions him at home for

4:52

fear of her parents' reaction.

4:54

Sunai's formed tutor, Lone Jensen,

4:57

likes her and sees the girl struggle

4:59

with her parents' expectations. Sunai

5:03

feels Danish

5:05

and would like to be called Freya.

5:07

To her father,

5:09

that's a slap in the face. Ashraf's

5:12

life in Denmark is far less interesting

5:15

than he'd hoped.

5:17

He attends the local language school and

5:19

works cash in hand as a dishwasher

5:21

in a pizza restaurant.

5:23

And his wife is always on his case about

5:26

becoming more involved in Sunai's upbringing.

5:29

He does so by disciplining his daughter.

5:32

He hits her with the flat of his hand, with

5:35

his fists,

5:36

and sometimes even with a curtain rod.

5:40

In March 2000, Sunai's

5:42

formed tutor notices that she's looking

5:45

sad and that she's missing classes.

5:48

During a chat, Sunai tells

5:50

her mentor that the violence is

5:52

making her scared to go home.

5:55

And not only that,

5:57

now her friends have threatened to tell

5:59

her parents that

5:59

she has a boyfriend, and that's

6:02

bound to result in further punishment.

6:10

A few months earlier, Ashraf

6:12

and Suhayla had found a photo of

6:14

a boy in Sinai's room.

6:17

It enraged Ashraf so much

6:20

that he tried to strangle his daughter with

6:22

a cable until she lost consciousness.

6:26

Lone tells Suhayla that child

6:28

services can remove her from her parents'

6:31

care if they're violent towards her.

6:35

With the girl's consent, the

6:37

form tutor then contacts the police.

6:40

It turns out she's right. The

6:43

police talk to Suhayla and arrange

6:45

for her to go to a foster family that evening.

6:49

The next day, the police interview Suhayla

6:51

as well as her parents and her friends.

6:56

Sinai says that she doesn't understand why

6:58

her mother and father beat her.

7:01

The constant physical violence at home

7:03

makes her question whether she actually is

7:06

her parents' biological child.

7:09

She also mentions two rapes

7:11

by fellow immigrants while the family

7:13

was in Turkey.

7:15

And it turns out that she's a year

7:17

older than was indicated on the family

7:19

reunion documentation.

7:22

But above all, Sinai is worried

7:25

about her little brother's safety. If

7:28

her parents think nothing of hitting her,

7:30

what might they do to him?

7:34

Children's services conclude that Sinai

7:36

is the victim of neglect

7:38

and house her with a foster family in Presto.

7:41

Her new living arrangements take some getting

7:43

used to and she has frequent nightmares.

7:47

The safety of her little brother is always

7:49

on her mind.

7:51

And in messages to her social worker,

7:53

she reveals the identities of those

7:55

who sexually abused her in Turkey.

7:59

demand to see their daughter, a supervised

8:03

meeting is arranged at the local child protection

8:05

offices.

8:07

At this gathering, Sinai's

8:09

parents put a lot of pressure on her and

8:12

try to convince her to come home, not

8:14

least because of the shame they feel of

8:17

having a daughter removed by the authorities.

8:21

They try to keep it a secret from the outside

8:23

world and claim that she's gone

8:25

back to Turkey.

8:27

But Sinai won't be talked into returning

8:29

home.

8:31

She has a boyfriend, likes to go

8:33

to school and loves being in Denmark.

8:37

She wants to be known as Freya

8:39

and doesn't want to be a Muslim.

8:41

She even asks her foster mother if

8:44

she can call her mum. Have

8:48

you ever seen

8:49

a Muslim man with a child?

8:53

But without telling anyone,

8:55

Sinai does go and visit her parents

8:57

to see how her little brother is doing. These

9:00

visits cause a lot of conflict. Sinai's

9:04

parents apply for a passport for her

9:06

and are adamant that she should marry a Muslim man.

9:11

During an argument over whether or not

9:13

she's pure,

9:14

Sinai tells her parents about

9:16

the two rapes in Turkey.

9:19

Ashraf threatens to murder her Danish

9:21

boyfriend because he

9:23

must have taken her innocence.

9:26

In response, Sinai yells that

9:29

there was nothing left to take. She

9:32

flees the house and begs a taxi

9:34

driver at the station to come to her aid

9:37

because her father is chasing her.

9:39

Help, she says. My father

9:41

wants to kill my boyfriend. Call the

9:43

police.

9:46

Because of the ongoing procedure, the

9:48

police respond at once and take Sinai

9:50

safely back to her foster family in Presto.

9:54

The police then conclude their investigation

9:57

and the public prosecution service charges

9:59

and charges.

9:59

Ashraf with mistreatment of

10:02

his daughter.

10:04

Sunai testifies during the hearing

10:06

in January 2001, and

10:09

the taxi driver confirms her statements.

10:12

Ashraf is sentenced to six months

10:14

in prison.

10:16

Suheyla escapes with a 10-day

10:18

suspended sentence.

10:21

When the verdict is announced, Suheyla

10:23

walks out of the courtroom and tries

10:26

to throw herself in front of a car.

10:28

The vehicle breaks just in time.

10:38

Suheyla

10:39

is now pregnant with her third

10:41

child. While

10:43

her husband is away, serving his sentence

10:45

for mistreating Sunai, she

10:48

puts huge pressure on her daughter and

10:50

the staff at child services to

10:52

get her home again. There

10:54

will soon be another little person

10:56

to look after.

10:58

Ashraf is released in June.

11:01

Fearing for their reputation,

11:03

her parents now promise Sunai

11:06

the earth.

11:07

In a strange way, Sunai

11:10

now actually has some power over

11:12

her parents.

11:15

And so, after two years with her foster

11:17

family,

11:18

Sunai moves back in with her parents

11:21

at the start of 2002.

11:24

She tells her former foster carers that

11:27

her father has been transformed by his

11:29

time in jail.

11:31

But Sunai soon questions her

11:33

decision.

11:35

Her foster mother is extremely worried

11:37

too.

11:38

She loves Sunai

11:40

and is scared that something will happen to her.

11:43

Sunai tells her,

11:45

if something happens to me, my

11:48

father will be to blame. When

11:50

Sunai returns

11:52

home, her parents try their best. She's given more

11:55

freedom than before. She's allowed

11:57

to live with her father.

11:59

to go out and they even let her

12:02

bring her new Turkish boyfriend home.

12:04

They want to meet him.

12:06

The downside is that Sinai starts going

12:09

to parties and misses a lot

12:11

of school.

12:14

But Sinai's mother has had a difficult

12:16

pregnancy and shortly after

12:18

the birth, she and the newborn girl

12:21

have to go into hospital. While

12:23

she's away, Ashrav is expected

12:25

to keep an eye on their elder daughter. Sinai

12:33

has been living back home for about three

12:35

weeks when she disappears around

12:38

midnight on Saturday the 8th of February.

12:41

She had invited her boyfriend, his

12:43

younger brother and a couple of friends

12:46

over.

12:47

They spent the evening drinking and dancing

12:49

and making a lot of noise, much

12:51

to Ashrav's annoyance and that

12:54

of their neighbours too.

12:57

Later, Sinai and her father

12:59

drive to a nearby petrol station to

13:02

buy a prepaid sim card.

13:04

At 9am on Sunday morning,

13:07

a fisherman calls the police.

13:12

He has found a lifeless body

13:14

in the freezing cold waters of Preisto

13:16

Harbour.

13:18

It's a girl or a young woman.

13:21

She has no phone or any form

13:23

of ID on her. The

13:26

emergency services try to resuscitate

13:28

her at the scene

13:29

but eventually she's pronounced dead.

13:33

The gaping wound on the back of her head

13:36

led the police to believe that they aren't dealing

13:38

with an accident.

13:40

The autopsy confirms their suspicions.

13:44

The victim has been beaten over the head

13:46

with a blunt object, hit

13:48

in the face and her arms show

13:51

signs of defensive injuries which

13:53

suggest that she put up a fight.

13:56

The cause of death is a combination

13:58

of violence and drowning.

13:59

It's

14:02

difficult to say how long her body

14:04

may have been in the seven-degree water,

14:07

but forensic investigators later

14:09

put the time of death at somewhere between

14:12

three and nine in the morning.

14:20

The police cordon off the area around

14:22

the harbour and spend a long time

14:24

investigating the crime scene. They

14:27

identify tyre tracks that definitely

14:29

require a closer look.

14:32

Later that Sunday, the 9th

14:34

of February, the local police

14:37

hold a press conference about a

14:39

girl found murdered in Presto

14:41

Harbour. In the meantime,

14:44

the girl's remains are taken to the Forensic

14:46

Science Centre in Copenhagen, where

14:48

her face is photographed. With

14:52

this image, police officers take

14:54

to the streets in the hope of identifying

14:56

the girl. Fortunately,

14:59

a passerby recognises

15:01

Sinai.

15:03

The police phone her foster mother

15:05

and ask her to come in on Monday morning

15:08

to identify the body.

15:11

Also on Monday, Ashraf,

15:13

along with Sinai's boyfriend, turn

15:16

up at the police station to report Sinai

15:18

missing. Sinai's boyfriend

15:21

especially is worried after hearing

15:23

that a girl was found in the harbour.

15:26

Because this type of murder case is

15:28

too complex for the local police department,

15:31

the national force is brought in for

15:33

assistance.

15:35

Kurt Krau, a long-serving

15:37

detective, heads up the investigation.

15:41

Sinai's murder

15:43

is a case he'll never forget.

15:46

He's a father himself,

15:48

and at first he struggles to see

15:50

Ashraf as a suspect. How

15:52

could anyone murder their own daughter?

15:56

But as an experienced police officer, he has

15:58

learned

15:59

to send a letter to the police.

15:59

aside his feelings and

16:02

to focus on the facts. Using

16:04

phone data, witness statements and

16:07

forensic evidence,

16:08

the investigators reconstruct Sinai's

16:11

final evening.

16:12

Her last sign of life was

16:14

a text message exchange with a friend

16:17

shortly before midnight.

16:19

But her bag with her phone inside

16:22

is never found.

16:30

The tracks in Presto Harbor are

16:32

found to be a match for the left tires

16:35

of Ashraf's white Toyota Corolla.

16:37

But then again, hundreds of cars in

16:40

Denmark are fitted with those tires.

16:44

The family vehemently deny any

16:47

involvement in the murder.

16:49

They point the finger at, in their

16:51

words, Sinai's many boyfriends.

16:54

One of them must have harmed her. But

16:57

conversations with friends and acquaintances

17:00

of the family cast a fresh light

17:02

on the case.

17:04

Ashraf was ashamed of his daughter's

17:06

behavior and gradually washed

17:09

his hands of her. But

17:11

seeing her daughter's perceived excesses,

17:14

Sihayla put pressure on her husband

17:17

and demanded that he take action.

17:21

Two witnesses come forward.

17:23

Neighbors saw Sinai's parents dragging

17:26

two large carpets out of their

17:28

house, cleaning them and

17:31

then hanging them out to dry. The

17:33

police are given permission to tap the

17:35

parents' landline and their

17:37

mobile phones.

17:39

And in the months that follow,

17:41

the investigators' suspicions are

17:43

confirmed.

17:45

Having been interviewed multiple times,

17:48

the couple have become nervous and

17:50

are arguing about who exactly is

17:53

responsible for their daughter's death.

17:56

Ashraf, I told you not to kill her.

17:58

There was still a chance she

18:01

could have got married,"

18:02

Suheyla says on the phone,

18:04

to which Ashraf replies, "'Didn't

18:06

you tell me she had to die?

18:09

This is all your fault.'"

18:20

In June, some four months

18:23

after Sinai's death, her father

18:25

is arrested.

18:27

He's prepared and immediately contacts

18:30

a lawyer,

18:31

and when he appears in court, he

18:33

enters a not guilty plea

18:35

without showing much emotion.

18:39

He's reminded in custody, so

18:41

he can't obstruct the investigation.

18:44

Meanwhile, his sister-in-law gives

18:46

a statement outlining everything Ashraf

18:49

did on the Saturday leading up

18:51

to Sinai's murder.

18:53

It's also discovered that the couple lied

18:56

about their escape from Iraq and

18:58

how their sister-in-law was brought to Denmark

19:00

under false pretenses and forced

19:03

to marry Ashraf's brother.

19:05

The Special Crimes Unit, which deals

19:07

with human trafficking, among other things,

19:10

opens a separate investigation to look

19:13

into these claims.

19:15

In November, the police conclude

19:17

their investigation into Sinai's case,

19:20

charges are brought,

19:21

and the trial is scheduled for the spring of 2003. Suheyla

19:24

tells a journalist at

19:26

newspaper Juhlenspausten

19:30

that her family was happy until

19:33

the authorities took Sinai away

19:35

from them.

19:36

Now she's all alone in her terraced

19:38

house with only her one-year-old

19:40

daughter and five-year-old son

19:42

for company, while

19:44

Ashraf is in custody pending

19:46

his trial.

19:48

Suheyla herself has charges

19:51

of human trafficking and falsifying

19:53

documents hanging over her.

19:59

be heard arguing are played

20:02

during the trial.

20:04

An interpreter is brought in to translate

20:07

because Ashraf and Suheyla talk

20:09

to each other in Turkmen.

20:11

However, on several occasions, the

20:13

defence claims that the translation is

20:16

incorrect or that the conversation

20:18

isn't about the daughter but about the

20:20

sister-in-law. And outside

20:22

the courtroom, an altercation

20:25

takes place when Suheyla verbally

20:27

attacks the Sinai's formed tutor who's

20:30

due to give evidence. "'You're

20:32

my daughter's real murderer,' she

20:34

shouts." When

20:38

it's Suheyla's turn to testify,

20:40

she keeps contradicting herself,

20:43

and the public prosecutor soon accuses

20:45

her of being a volatile

20:47

and manipulative woman, someone

20:50

who has total control over her husband.

20:53

Yet he can't pin anything on

20:55

her. There's no physical evidence.

20:59

The public prosecution service has

21:01

to build its case using recorded conversations,

21:04

witness statements and the tire tracks

21:07

found in the harbour.

21:09

Ashraf himself continues to maintain

21:12

his innocence.

21:15

In exceptionally clear instructions

21:17

to the jury, the judge formulates

21:20

his take on the case as follows.

21:23

It's unlikely that Sinai committed suicide

21:26

or that she was a victim of a sex crime.

21:29

The tire tracks and the conversations

21:31

between her parents are the evidence

21:33

upon which they should decide the case.

21:37

The jurors reach a decision after three

21:39

and a half hours. Ashraf

21:42

is found guilty of his daughter's

21:44

murder.

21:45

He's sentenced to 14 years in prison

21:48

and has his residence permit revoked.

21:52

A year later, the Supreme Court

21:54

upholds this decision.

22:03

When the trial is over, Suheyla

22:06

is officially charged with human trafficking

22:09

and falsifying documents.

22:11

Ashraf is charged with aiding

22:13

and abetting human trafficking while

22:15

in prison for his daughter's murder. He

22:18

accepts his subsequent deportation to

22:21

Iraq, but that doesn't stop him

22:23

from writing a letter to his brother, in

22:25

which he threatens to kill him for not

22:27

lying to the police on his behalf. I'll

22:30

kill you, just like I killed the unbelieving

22:33

Sinai. He writes in a letter

22:35

from March 2005.

22:39

Detective Kurt Krau can breathe

22:41

a sigh of relief.

22:43

He still struggles to understand how

22:46

a man can murder his own daughter.

22:49

But

22:49

now, at last, he has the

22:51

confession that he'd been hoping for. Suheyla

22:55

is found guilty of human trafficking

22:58

and sentenced to 30 days in prison.

23:01

She's also banned from entering Denmark

23:04

for five years.

23:05

This penalty is later reviewed by

23:08

the Supreme Court and the deportation

23:11

revoked because the police waited

23:13

too long to prosecute.

23:16

The Danish Criminal Code contains

23:19

no concrete passages relating

23:21

to crimes in which family honor

23:24

is the main motive.

23:26

However, these days, all instances

23:28

of honor-based violence, defined

23:31

as crimes informed by cultural

23:33

or religious practices and attitudes

23:36

to family honor, are carefully

23:38

recorded.

23:40

More than 100 women from a migrant

23:42

background living in Denmark

23:44

have received a new identity and

23:46

a new home in an undisclosed location

23:49

because they feared being killed by a family

23:51

member.

23:53

In 2009, Ashraf

23:56

is deported from Denmark and

23:58

put on a plane to Iraq.

24:00

Suheyla and her two children

24:03

continue to live in Shalland, Denmark's

24:06

largest and most populous

24:08

island.

24:30

You