Normal Juarez Taha apparently was the linchpin of a plot to return this woman to Libya, where should would almost certainly have been the victim of an honor killing.
“Woman accused of kidnapping over shame to Muslims,” by Aaron Martinez, El Paso Times, February 17, 2017:
A woman was arrested after she was accused of kidnapping a woman because her “lifestyle brought shame to the Muslim community and she should return to Libya,” according to court documents.
Normal Juarez Taha, who is described as a “Mexican-Muslim” in court documents, was arrested at about 9:25 p.m. Tuesday by 12 FBI El Paso Division agents without incident at her home in the 200 block of Thunderbird Drive in West El Paso. She is accused of kidnapping the woman, referred to only as AFA in court documents, from the woman’s home earlier in the week.
Taha, 35, is facing one count of kidnapping, which holds a maximum sentence of life in prison. She made her initial appearance in federal court Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Miguel A. Torres….
Taha allegedly kidnapped the woman, whose age has not been released, at about 3 a.m. Monday from her bedroom.
The woman told investigators she knew Taha as “Sister Norma” because she was a family friend.
Taha allegedly entered the woman’s bedroom while she was sleeping and attempted to put tape on her mouth, a criminal complaint states. The woman yelled, but no one in the home heard her.
She was told by Taha to be quiet and that she needed to go with her because she and her family were in danger, the complaint states. Taha told her that she was trying to help her and that she eventually would be reunited with her family.
Taha said that the danger facing the woman and her family was that they were going to be deported and that the woman’s brother would not get the medical assistance he needs, the complaint states.
Taha then walked the woman, who was not wearing shoes, out of the house through the front door and put her in the rear cargo area of a Toyota van, the complaint alleges.
At some point, she was moved to the front of the van and was told to hide underneath the glove compartment area. She was then blindfolded and taken to an area on Montana Avenue in far East El Paso.
The woman told investigators that she was scared for her life because Taha was carrying a black-and-red pistol and that she feared that if she attempted to run away, Taha would shoot her, the complaint states….
Taha later allegedly admitted that she had gone to the woman’s home and made up the story that she and her family were in danger to trick her into coming with her, the complaint states.
She added that the woman’s “lifestyle brought embarrassment to her family and she should be taken to Mexico or Libya.”
Taha allegedly said she did not receive any money for kidnapping her, the complaint states.
She also admitted to mixing muscle relaxant pills and water together in a syringe and injecting the mixture into the victim’s leg to keep her calm, the complaint says….