BRUSSELS — A Belgian man convicted of murder and rape is being put to death. Yet the country doesn’t have the death penalty. Confused?
Authorities have granted a request for assisted suicide by Frank Van Den Bleeken, who says he’s a menace to society and can’t live knowing that.
Even in Belgium, which has one of the broadest euthanasia laws in the world, the decision is raising eyebrows, with some saying it’s proof of a failing justice and health system.
Belgium’s justice minister approved Van Den Bleeken’s transfer to a hospital for euthanasia late Monday after doctors agreed his mental condition was incurable, making him the first detainee in Belgium to be put to death for psychiatric reasons.
Van Den Bleeken, who was found guilty of murder and rape in several cases, has been locked up for almost 30 years. He wishes to die because he has no viable treatment options left and cannot control his sexual urges, his lawyer said Tuesday.
“He has clearly said that he didn’t want to leave prison because he didn’t want to risk creating further victims,” Jos Vander Velpen said. Seeing himself as a danger to society, he can “no longer live like that,” the lawyer added.
He declined to discuss when the medically assisted suicide would take place, citing his client’s right to privacy.
Belgium has allowed euthanasia since 2002 for the terminally ill, but the vast majority of cases involve physical illnesses.
Carine Brochier, a project manager with the European Institute of Bioethics in Brussels and who opposes euthanasia, said Van Den Bleeken should not be allowed to die but receive treatment as would be the case in all other countries.
The decision amounts to a “death penalty through the backdoor,” she said.
Proponents of euthanasia supported the decision but acknowledged that Van Den Bleeken’s case is complicated because he isn’t suffering from a physical illness, which makes it harder to prove that his condition is incurable.
“The position that we have regarding a patient, detained or not, with a cancer is totally different from the position we have regarding what we can’t see, meaning a psychiatric disorder,” said Jacqueline Herremans, president of Belgium’s right-to-die association.
