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Friday, 19 February 2016 - 12:06
Court: Pim Fortuyn killer does not require psychiatric care
Pim Fortuyn's murderer Volkert van der Graaf no longer has to undergo compulsory psychiatric treatment, the court in The Hague ruled on Friday, news wire ANP reports.
Compulsory psychiatric treatment was one of the conditions of Van der Graaf's release from prison in 2014. Early this month his lawyer Willem Jebbink told the Volkskrant that his client is no longer getting this treatment. "In the meantime it was established that my client is not suffering from a mental disorder. The psychiatrist wrote a year and a half ago that there is no need for treatment and ended the sessions", Jebbink said to the newspaper.
On Friday the court ruled that Van der Graaf can not be forced into psychiatric treatment if a psychiatrist already ruled that he had no need for it. "The condition states that only the behavioral expert - in this case the psychiatrist - can determine whether treatment is finished, albeit after - and not in - consultation with the probation service, which happened", the judge said. "Probation therefore does not have to agree. All this means that Van der Graaf can not be obligated to be treated by a psychologist."
Another of Van der Graaf's release conditions is that he is not allowed contact with the press, so he can not comment on how he feels about this ruling. Lawyer Jebbink was not available for comment.