An appeals
court in Belgium has upheld convicted murderer and rapist Frank Van Den
Bleeken's approval to be euthanized. He will be the first detainee in the
country put to death for psychiatric reasons.
Deutsche Welle, 29 Sep 2014
The appeals
court in Brussels upheld the decision on Monday, after a separate court had
approved Van Den Bleeken's right to seek assisted suicide in mid-September.
"He
can leave the jail for 24 hours in order to seek euthanasia," a court
press spokesman said.
The exact
date of Van Den Bleeken's euthanasia is not known.
Seeking an
end to 'psychological pain'
Van Den
Bleeken was found guilty of murder and rape on multiple instances, and has
spent nearly 30 years behind bars. He considers himself a danger to the public.
The 50-year-old says he suffers from "psychological pain" that cannot
be treated and is unable to control his sexual urges.
"I am
a human being, and regardless of what I've done, I remain a human being. So,
yes, give me euthanasia," Van Den Bleeken told VRT Flemish Belgian
television.
His lawyer,
Jos Vander Velpen, defended the court's ruling, saying his "client suffers
endlessly."
A sister of
one of Van Den Bleeken's victims expressed dismay at the decision. "He
should die in his cell," she told the daily Het Laatse Nieuws newspaper
earlier this month.
Increase in
assisted suicide
After Van
Den Bleeken became the first Belgian to be granted the right to euthanasia
earlier this month, 15 further long-time inmates the country asked to seek
assisted suicide.
Belgium has
allowed assisted suicide since 2002 for the terminally-ill. Across the country
last year, 1,807 people opted for assisted suicide, 27 percent more than in
2012.
In
February, Belgium became the first country in the world to allow assisted suicide without an age limit. Thus, terminally ill children can choose to take
their own lives in certain circumstances.
Among
European countries, assisted suicide is also legal in the Netherlands and
Luxembourg.
dr/bw (KNA, dpa, AP, Reuters, AFP)
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