Judges sentenced the activist to three and a half years in prison. Photo: iStockphoto
A Dutch man was jailed for selling suicide kits that led to the deaths of at least ten people in the first case of its kind in the Netherlands.
The man identified as 30-year-old Alex S ., accused of providing 1,600 packages of “Substance X”, a lethal drug cocktail, to customers since 2018.
Judges of the District Court Den Bosch have sentenced a pro-euthanasia activist to three and a half years in prison, of which 18 months of probation.
Although euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands, it can only be carried out under strict medical supervision in cases where it is believed that a person is experiencing “unbearable suffering without hope of improvement.”
It is against the law for ordinary citizens to help someone commit suicide.
”The accused was very frivolous to the lives of others and undermined the value of human life in general,” the judges said.
“In addition, he thereby undermined the practice of euthanasia in the Netherlands, which is designed with many requirements of thoroughness,” they added.
“Lethal dose”
The packages provided by Alex S. contained two or three capsules, a “lethal dose”, as well as an antiemetic, a drug used to stop the court hearing about nausea.
The deaths caused by the drug cocktail were not always pleasant, the judges added.
During the criminal trial, relatives of the victims “described the suffering and panic that led to a terrible death,” they said.
According to the Dutch government, toxic substances for which there are currently antidotes can kill anyone to kill, takes up to 40 hours.
Alex S. bought them outside of the Netherlands and then sold them for about 45 euros to clients he had never seen.
His case led to investigating 12 more people, five of whom are associated with the lobbying group Cooperatie Laatste, which advocates euthanasia.
“Hopeless suffering”
The Netherlands and neighboring Belgium in 2002 became the first countries. to legalize euthanasia in the world.
Under Dutch law, patients must ask for death “voluntarily, well thought out and with full conviction.”
Physicians must abide by a strict set of checks and balances before than they will be allowed to perform euthanasia, including a second independent opinion.
In April, the Netherlands agreed to change its rules to allow doctors to assist in the death of terminally ill children aged 1 to 12 who suffer unbearably from their conditions for which palliative care cannot bring relief.
“The end of life for this group is the only reasonable alternative to the unbearable and hopeless suffering of a child,” the government said in a statement at the time.
The law already provided for the possibility of euthanasia of terminally ill infants before their first birthday and children over 12 years of age.
Recent Comments