A Dutch man found guilty of murdering former health minister Els Borst because she helped to legalise euthanasia was Wednesday sentenced to detention in a psychiatric unit, judges said.
The man, only known as Bart U. because of Dutch privacy concerns, "suffers from a severe psychiatric illness and therefore is extremely dangerous," the Rotterdam district court said in a statement.
Bart van U. "lives in a parallel world... and will have to be treated for years," the court added.
Borst, who as health minister from 1994 to 2002 helped the Netherlands become the world's first country to legalise doctor-assisted death, was found with multiple stab wounds in her garage in February 2014. She was 81.
Apart from Borst, Bart van U. also stabbed his own sister Lois to death "in a most violent fashion".
He confessed to both murders, telling judges he was on a "divine mission" to kill Borst in a murder that rocked the Netherlands, including members of her progressive D66 political party.
"The death of Mrs Borst, a former Dutch minister shocked the Netherlands. While she was alive, she had advocated for the right to die with dignity," the court said.
"Van U. robbed her of the very same right."
Borst, a doctor by training was well-known for her liberal and progressive views on many aspects of private health care.
A Dutch man found guilty of murdering former health minister Els Borst because she helped to legalise euthanasia was Wednesday sentenced to detention in a psychiatric unit, judges said.
The man, only known as Bart U. because of Dutch privacy concerns, “suffers from a severe psychiatric illness and therefore is extremely dangerous,” the Rotterdam district court said in a statement.
Bart van U. “lives in a parallel world… and will have to be treated for years,” the court added.
Borst, who as health minister from 1994 to 2002 helped the Netherlands become the world’s first country to legalise doctor-assisted death, was found with multiple stab wounds in her garage in February 2014. She was 81.
Apart from Borst, Bart van U. also stabbed his own sister Lois to death “in a most violent fashion”.
He confessed to both murders, telling judges he was on a “divine mission” to kill Borst in a murder that rocked the Netherlands, including members of her progressive D66 political party.
“The death of Mrs Borst, a former Dutch minister shocked the Netherlands. While she was alive, she had advocated for the right to die with dignity,” the court said.
“Van U. robbed her of the very same right.”
Borst, a doctor by training was well-known for her liberal and progressive views on many aspects of private health care.
