実子５人殺害の女、事件から１６年後に安楽死　ベルギー

【ベルギーＡＦＰ＝時事】ベルギーで２００７年に実子５人を殺害したジュヌビエーブ・レルミット受刑者が、事件から１６年を迎えた２月２８日、自らの希望で安楽死した。弁護人が３日、ＡＦＰに現地メディアの報道内容を認めた。レルミット受刑者は２００８年に終身刑を言い渡され、２０１９年に精神科病院へ移された。（写真は２００８年にベルギー・ニベルの裁判所に出廷したレルミット被告）
　レルミット受刑者は２００７年２月２８日、中部ニベルの自宅でパートナーの留守中、３～１４歳の息子１人と娘４人の喉を包丁で切り裂き殺害。包丁で自殺を図ったが失敗し、救急に通報した。
　ベルギーの法律では、肉体的な苦痛だけでなく精神的な苦痛についても、治癒不可能で「耐え難い」と判断された場合、安楽死を選択することが認められている。この場合、本人が判断力を有していて、熟考した上で、一貫して意思を表明する必要がある。弁護人は「レルミット受刑者はこの手順に従い、さまざまな医師の意見が検討された」と述べた。
　心理学者のエミリー・マロワ氏はテレビ局ＲＴＬ－ＴＶＩに対し、レルミット受刑者が事件の起きた２月２８日を選んだのは、「子どもたちを思っての象徴的な意思表示」だった可能性が高いとし、「受刑者はもともと子どもを殺害した時に自殺しようとしていたので、始めたことをやり遂げるということだったのかもしれない」と語った。
　当局によると、ベルギーで昨年、２９６６人が安楽死した。前年比１０％の増加となった。安楽死を選択した理由の第１位は長年「がん」となっているが、４分の３近くは「肉体的・精神的両面でのさまざまな苦痛」を挙げているという。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/03/03-18:36）

A Belgian woman who murdered her five children in a case that shocked the country has been euthanised at her own request, 16 years to the day after their killing, her lawyer said Thursday.
Genevieve Lhermitte slit the throats of her son and four daughters aged three to 14 with a kitchen knife at the family home in the town of Nivelles on February 28, 2007 while their father was away.
She then tried to commit suicide by stabbing herself, but the attempt failed and she ended up calling the emergency services.
Lhermitte was sentenced to life in prison in 2008, before being moved to a psychiatric hospital in 2019.
The 56-year-old's lawyer Nicolas Cohen confirmed to AFP reports in local media that his client had died through euthanasia on the sixteenth anniversary of the killings on Tuesday.
Belgian law allows for people to chose to be euthanised if they are deemed to be suffering from unbearable psychological, and not just physical, suffering that cannot be healed.
The person must be conscious of their decision and be able to express their wish in a reasoned and consistent manner.
It is this specific procedure that Mrs Lhermitte followed, with the various medical opinions having been collected, her lawyer said.
Psychologist Emilie Maroit told the RTL-TVI channel that Lhermitte likely chose to die on February 28 in a symbolic gesture in respect for her children.
It may also have been for her to finish what she started because basically she wanted to end her life when she killed them, Maroit said.
The quintuple murder in 2007 and the subsequent trial rocked Belgium.
Lhermitte's lawyers argued that their client, who had regularly seen a psychiatrist, was mentally disturbed and should not be sent to prison.
But the jury found her guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced her to life in jail after hearing conflicting medical expertise.
In 2010 Lhermitte filed a civil lawsuit demanding up to three million euros ($3.18 million) from a former psychiatrist alleging his inaction had failed to prevent the murders, but she ended up abandoning the legal battle after ten years without success.
Last year 2,966 people died via euthanasia in Belgium, an increase of 10 percent compared to 2021, according to the authorities.
Cancer remains the number one reason cited, but officials said for nearly three out of four requests the patient presented several types of suffering, both physical and psychological.