On Monday, Afghan asylum seeker Meysam H. heard a 6-year unconditional prison sentence demanded in the court in Roermond for a triple attempted manslaughter in the asylum seekers’ center in Echt.
The stabbing took place in October 2021. The man is suspected of stabbing three residents of the asylum seekers’ center in Echt with a knife. All three victims suffered minor injuries. They would have arisen because they resisted the stabbing weapon.
Intention to kill
21-year-old Meysam H. stated several times that he had not killed anyone, although he did have that intention towards one of the victims. The suspect, wearing a neck mat and slippers, did not seem to fully understand the gravity of the situation and wondered why he had been in jail for five months, when no one had died as a result of his actions.
Conflicting Answers
His bare feet shook nervously as he answered questions and listened to his interpreter. Although the suspect answered all questions through the interpreter, he often remained confused and contradictory in his formulations.
Bothered
The stabbing itself took place after a long time that he was harassed by other residents in the asylum seekers’ center, he said at the hearing. They would have been banging on his door for months, making him feel unsafe and threatened. The COA did not take reports about this seriously, he stated. When he had to deal with the noise nuisance again at the end of October, he went to seek redress.
Stitch movements
Various testimonies and interrogations of the suspects show that a skirmish took place, after which H. grabbed a knife in his room. He then made several stabbing movements towards the abdominal area of his co-resident in the asylum seekers’ center. The victim was able to fend off these stabbing movements. The intervention of two other residents prevented worse. The two men who intervened also suffered minor injuries.
Blood residue
No psychiatric abnormality was found in the asylum seeker who had exhausted all legal remedies. He would, however, have problems controlling his aggression. The court therefore called it disturbing that two knives were found during his arrest. One with also blood from one of the victims.
No intent
According to H.’s lawyer René Delescen, there was no intention to kill anyone. The suspect would only have let his frustration run its course with a small blunt potato peeler. He also says that no targeted stabbing movements were made towards the victims. Therefore, only assault would remain as a criminal offence.
Delescen asked the court to look at the case differently. And take the circumstances in the asylum seekers’ center into account. That could explain his client’s frustration. He therefore asked not to demand a prison sentence that lasts longer than the pre-trial detention of more than 4.5 months.
The court will rule in two weeks.