An elderly man who helped his 99-year-old mother to die 10 years ago has
had his six month suspended jail sentence upheld by the Supreme Court, ending a
lengthy legal process.
Albert Heringa (75) was earlier cleared on all charges
but the Supreme Court said in March 2017 there should be a retrial because
euthanasia carried out by someone other than a doctor must be subject to ‘very
strict rules’.
In the subsequent trial, Heringa was sentenced to a six month
suspended jail term, which he appealed. That conviction has now been confirmed.
Heringa’s lawyer Tim Vis told website Nu.nl that he was disappointed with the
ruling. ‘We will consider the verdict carefully and may look at approaching the
European court for human rights in Strasburg,’ he said.
Lethal dose
Heringa
decided to help his mother die when doctors refused her request to administer a
lethal dose of medication.
He filmed his mother, who was almost blind and
suffering from crippling back pains, as he helped her take the pills that would
kill her. She had been secretly storing up the pills for some time.
The footage
featured in a documentary called De laatste wens van Moek (Mum’s final wish)
which was broadcast in 2010.
Germany's highest court reopens painful debate on assisted suicidehttps://t.co/Gu0219lu2z pic.twitter.com/07mpBif8N4— AFP news agency (@AFP) 16 april 2019
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