A failed Lebanese asylum seeker who was allowed to stay in Germany despite having over 40 criminal convictions has been charged with stabbing his ex-wife to death outside a women’s shelter where she sought protection.
Norhan A., the 36-year-old victim also from Lebanon, was brutally murdered by her ex-husband Yasser B., 50, in Berlin’s affluent district of Zehlendorf on Aug. 28.
According to the prosecution, she was ambushed and stabbed three times in the chest — a fatal attack that ended her life despite a witness’s brave intervention.
The attack occurred after Yasser discovered her location and waited in the bushes. Witnesses described his rage, shouting, “You whore!” as he knocked Norhan to the ground and stabbed her repeatedly, with one blow piercing her heart.
The killing culminated years of threats, stalking, and violence. The couple divorced in 2022 after Norhan had endured relentless abuse. Yasser’s criminal record includes 44 entries, 31 of which relate to domestic violence, violations of restraining orders, and stalking.
In what was described by the court as a heinous attack designed to inflict the "greatest possible psychological damage" on his former partner, the Syrian man doused his ex's sister in gasoline and set her ablaze at the front door of her family home. https://t.co/Hz1QN8RQhj
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) December 3, 2024Despite repeated complaints and convictions, the authorities failed to prevent him from continuing his campaign of terror against Norhan.
Text messages show how Yasser had threatened the victim, telling her, “I will kill you, I will take out your soul.”
As reported by Berliner Zeitung, Norhan’s last WhatsApp status update before her death expressed her desire for “salvation from the hands of Satan.”
Yasser claimed asylum in Germany over two decades ago but his application was refused in 2002. Despite his criminal record, authorities repeatedly extended his residence permit allowing him to remain in Germany. His most recent permit, however, had expired a week before the murder.
The suspect, 59-year-old Ali K., confessed to waiting for his ex-wife, Claudia, in the forest where she walked her dog before shooting her three times. He had reportedly failed to come to terms with her leaving him more than five years earlier. https://t.co/hup5j9veVY
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) October 1, 2024During a police interview, Yasser showed no remorse for the murder, boasting that “his children are doing better now that he has restored his honor.”
“Out of excessive possessiveness and massive jealousy, the defendant made the decision to kill her,” read a statement from the public prosecutor’s office handling the case.
Norhan’s relatives described her as a woman yearning for freedom and independence, determined to build a self-determined life. Her niece, Rima A., said, “She had to die because she was a woman who wanted her freedom.”
The trial against Yasser B. is expected to begin by February.
