标签： Europe

In a significant breakthrough for cold case investigations, the identity of a woman whose body was discovered on a Dutch beach in 2004 has finally been revealed. Eva Maria Pommer, a 35-year-old German citizen, has been named as the fourth individual identified through Interpol’s Operation Identify Me, an international initiative aimed at solving long-standing mysteries involving unidentified bodies. The identification came after a crucial tip-off to Dutch police, following a public appeal aired on German television. Despite the breakthrough, the cause of Pommer’s death remains unexplained, and investigations are ongoing. Known as ‘the woman with the German keys,’ Pommer’s body was found in sand dunes near Wassenaar in July 2004, with no obvious signs of injury or struggle. She was wearing distinctive clothing, including brown plaid leggings and red patent shoes, and carried a key linked to the German city of Bottrop. However, police were unable to trace the key to a specific address, leaving her identity a mystery for two decades. Operation Identify Me, launched in 2023, has utilized Interpol’s ‘black notices’ and global fingerprint sharing to shed light on unsolved cases across six European countries. The campaign has already identified three other women, including Rita Roberts, a British citizen murdered in Belgium in 1992, and Ainoha Izaga Ibieta Lima, a Paraguayan woman found dead in Spain in 2018. Interpol highlights the challenges posed by global migration and human trafficking, which complicate the identification of bodies found outside their countries of origin. The latest identification marks a milestone in international collaboration, offering closure to families and renewed hope for solving other cold cases.

A court in Nîmes, southern France, has increased the prison sentence of Husamettin Dogan, the sole defendant who contested his conviction in a harrowing rape case involving Gisèle Pelicot, a 72-year-old retired grandmother. Dogan, 44, saw his original nine-year sentence extended to 10 years after the court dismissed his appeal. The case, which has shocked the nation, involved Pelicot being drugged and raped by dozens of men recruited by her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, over a decade. Despite video evidence presented in court showing Dogan assaulting an unconscious Pelicot, he maintained his innocence, claiming he was unaware she had been drugged. The court, however, rejected his defense, reinforcing the gravity of the crime. Last December, Dogan and 50 other men were convicted of aggravated rape, with 17 initially appealing before withdrawing their challenges. Dogan, a Turkish-born married father, was the only one to pursue his appeal, leading to a retrial judged by a jury of nine public members and three professional judges. Prosecutors had sought a 12-year sentence for Dogan, who argued he was a victim of Dominique Pelicot’s manipulation. The case highlights the extensive abuse Pelicot endured and the role of video evidence in securing convictions. This story is developing, with further updates expected.

A Dutch beekeeper, Harold Stringer, has expressed profound shock and sorrow after 10 of his beehives were deliberately set ablaze in Beatrixpark, Almere, resulting in the loss of approximately half a million bees. The incident, which occurred on Tuesday evening, has left the local community and environmental advocates deeply concerned. Stringer, who has been tending to bees for nearly a decade, described the act as ‘horrific,’ emphasizing that each hive housed a colony of 40,000 to 60,000 bees. Police in Almere, a city located east of Amsterdam, have launched an investigation and are appealing for witnesses. They shared images of the fire on social media, highlighting the severity of the arson attack. Authorities revealed that an accelerant was used to ignite the hives, which were placed on pallets in a wooded area of the park. Sadly, almost none of the bees survived. Stringer expressed skepticism about the perpetrator being caught but vowed to rebuild his bee colony from scratch. Fellow beekeeper Heleen Nieman offered to donate one of her three bee colonies to support him. The incident underscores the broader crisis facing bees in the Netherlands, where over half of the country’s 360 bee species are at risk of extinction due to declining populations worldwide.