A routine traffic incident at Lugner City, Vienna turned into a harrowing kidnapping attempt, narrowly averted thanks to the courage of a six-year-old girl.
Shortly before 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 30th, a minor rear-end collision occurred in an underground parking garage. While one driver provided valid identification, the other—a 39-year-old Iraqi man driving a VW Touareg—failed to produce a license and behaved suspiciously, prompting police involvement.
Officers soon discovered a terrified 34-year-old woman and her two small children in the back seat. The mother had previously obtained a restraining order against her ex-husband, who had threatened her with a knife earlier that evening. The six-year-old daughter signaled for help, allowing authorities to intervene in time. During the investigation, police found four knives, including one hidden in a stroller. The suspect was arrested and remanded by the Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office.
This incident reflects a wider, troubling trend across Europe. Honour-based violence, including so-called “honour killings,” now increasingly appears across Europe because of uncontrolled mass migration. This cruel practice usually involves a victim’s close relatives—most often women or girls—who are punished for behavior considered disgraceful or forbidden by their cultural norms.
Within this distorted mindset, killing the victim is seen as the sole method for the family to restore its honour and social standing. While honour killings have appeared in various societies throughout history, they are today largely concentrated in the Muslim world.
In the Netherlands, a young woman, Ryan Al Najjar, was allegedly murdered by her brothers because she had refused an arranged marriage, had a boyfriend, and had stopped wearing a headscarf. Similar attacks have been recorded in Austria, Belgium, France, and Germany—often targeting women who attempt to integrate into Western societies.
