In the trial of Fouad L., the prosecution is demanding 30 years in prison supplemented with preventive detention preventive custody (‘tbs’ in Dutch). Fouad L. killed three people and set fire to his home and the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam on September 28, 2023. The victims were his neighbor, her daughter and a teacher from the medical school. The latter was also working at TU Delft, at the bachelor of clinical technology and the master of technical medicine.
The suspect studied medicine at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, but was not allowed to graduate because of doubts about his mental state. When the former student killed the teacher, students were present. “I still live in panic almost daily,” one of them told the courtroom.
Little repentance
Several media followed the case closely, including the Rotterdam university magazine Erasmus Magazine. During the hearing, the perpetrator showed little remorse. Relatives and victims also spoke out. The teacher’s partner said that the sparkle of life is gone for her, and his daughter said that panic overwhelmed her when the police arrived at her doorstep.
Fouad L. is likely to disappear behind bars for years, and if the judge does indeed impose ‘tbs’, he may never be released. The so-called tbs is intended for offenders with a personality disorder that makes them likely to repeat. That appears to be the case with the suspect. Experts from the Pieter Baan Center who examined him said his mental state caused that he cannot fully be held accountable for his actions, and therefore needs treatment.
The judge will rule on Friday, Feb. 21.
HOP, Bas Belleman/Delta, Kim Bakker
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