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Murder of Ihsane Jarfi

SOLVED2012Liège, Belgium3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

Ihsane Jarfi, a 32-year-old gay man living in Liège, Belgium, disappeared on April 22, 2012, after leaving the Open Bar, a gay bar in the city center, in a car with four other men. According to one of the men later arrested, the group struck Jarfi while still in the car, telling him they wanted "to teach the homo a lesson."

The men then stripped Jarfi and beat him, inflicting very serious injuries that included 17 fractured ribs. They took his money and cell phone and left him naked and bleeding in a field outside the city. A medical examiner later determined that Jarfi died between four and six hours after being abandoned there. His body was found nine days later, on May 1, 2012, by two hikers.

In February 2014, four men — Mutlu Kizilaslan, Jérémy Wintgens, Jonathan Lekeu, and Eric Parmentier — were charged with homophobic murder. They also faced charges of theft with aggravating circumstances, including committing murder to facilitate the theft or ensure impunity, torture and inhuman and degrading treatment, acts of serious humiliation or degradation, and kidnapping.

A trial opened in November 2014 before the Liège Assize Court. In December 2014, the court convicted Kizilaslan, Wintgens, and Parmentier of the homophobic assassination of Jarfi and sentenced each to life imprisonment. Lekeu was convicted of homophobic murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The case was recognized as the first homophobic murder case under Belgian law and drew wide public attention to anti-LGBT violence in the country. It has since been addressed in a book written by Jarfi's father, Ihsane Jarfi: le couloir du deuil (2013); a television documentary, Le crépuscule d'Ihsane, broadcast on RTBF in 2013 and 2014; a theatrical work, La reprise, Histoire(s) du théâtre (I), directed by Milo Rau, which premiered in Brussels in 2017 and was later staged in Edinburgh in 2019; and a 2021 film, Animals, dedicated to his memory.

Key facts

Victims
Ihsane Jarfi
Date
2012
Location
Liège, Belgium
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1980

    Ihsane Jarfi is born.

  2. 2012-04-22

    Jarfi disappears after leaving the Open Bar, a gay bar in central Liège, in a car with four other men.

  3. 2012-05-01

    Jarfi's body is found in a field by two hikers, nine days after he disappeared.

  4. 2014-02

    Mutlu Kizilaslan, Jérémy Wintgens, Jonathan Lekeu, and Eric Parmentier are charged with homophobic murder, theft with aggravating circumstances, torture, and kidnapping.

  5. 2014-11

    Trial opens before the Liège Assize Court.

  6. 2014-12

    The court convicts Kizilaslan, Wintgens, and Parmentier of homophobic assassination, sentencing each to life imprisonment; Lekeu is convicted of homophobic murder and sentenced to 30 years.

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People

  • Mutlu Kizilaslan

    CONVICTED

    Convicted by the Liège Assize Court in December 2014 of the homophobic assassination of Ihsane Jarfi; sentenced to life imprisonment.

  • Jérémy Wintgens

    CONVICTED

    Convicted by the Liège Assize Court in December 2014 of the homophobic assassination of Ihsane Jarfi; sentenced to life imprisonment.

  • Ihsane Jarfi

    VICTIM

    32-year-old gay man abducted and killed in Liège, Belgium, in April 2012.

  • Eric Parmentier

    CONVICTED

    Convicted by the Liège Assize Court in December 2014 of the homophobic assassination of Ihsane Jarfi; sentenced to life imprisonment.

  • Jonathan Lekeu

    CONVICTED

    Convicted by the Liège Assize Court in December 2014 of the homophobic murder of Ihsane Jarfi; sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Liège, Belgium

50.4986, 5.3498

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
A 32-year-old gay man was abducted from a bar in Liège, Belgium, beaten, and left to die in a field in April 2012, in what became the first homophobic murder case recognized under Belgian law. Four men were convicted in December 2014.
Where did the murder happen?
Liège, Belgium.
Who was convicted?
Mutlu Kizilaslan (Convicted by the Liège Assize Court in December 2014 of the homophobic assassination of Ihsane Jarfi; sentenced to life imprisonment.), Jérémy Wintgens (Convicted by the Liège Assize Court in December 2014 of the homophobic assassination of Ihsane Jarfi; sentenced to life imprisonment.), Eric Parmentier (Convicted by the Liège Assize Court in December 2014 of the homophobic assassination of Ihsane Jarfi; sentenced to life imprisonment.), and Jonathan Lekeu (Convicted by the Liège Assize Court in December 2014 of the homophobic murder of Ihsane Jarfi; sentenced to 30 years in prison.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.
More cases in Belgium

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICMurder of Ihsane JarfiWikipedia · 2026-07-12
  2. PRESSLa Reprise: Histoire(s) du Théâtre (I) review – Royal Lyceum, EdinburghThe Guardian · 2026-07-12
  3. PRESSProcès des meurtriers d'Ihsane Jarfi : les très lourdes peines sont tombéesrtl.be · 2026-07-12

Record history

First published
JUL 13, 2026