Attempted suicide in Dutch parliament; note found on Facebook

A man who jumped off the public gallery in the Tweede Kamer on Wednesday, was trying to commit suicide in an attempt to "shake politicians awake", the 65-year-old cannabis activist from Groenlo said in a suicide note posted on Facebook, the Telegraaf reports.

The man survived his attempted suicide and is currently in hospital.

"Forgive me this deed, I have to do this to shake politicians awake. I can not reach them with my message." he wrote on Facebook. "I have a solution for a sustainable earth and have been here for 2 months to ask attention for medical cannabis users who are criminalized by this government, they do not listen!!"

He wrote about the tobacco industry causing millions of deaths a year, but nothing being done about them. "Cannabis is criminalized while it can save the earth and is a medicine for many people. I do this for the earth, the people. They have to wake up!! Such a shame that it must be this way, I would have loved to stay with you. I ask you to continue the fight for legalization."

The man was previously convicted for possessing cannabis plants. He finds this unfair. "I'm just a well-meaning citizen who has been mislead by the government", he previously said to De Gelderlander.

The attempted suicide happened during a debate on organized crime in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament. The debate was immediately halted and the meeting room evacuated. Parliamentarians who saw it happen are very shaken. "Of course it has an impact if something like this happens", Tweede Kamer president Khadija Arib said to RTL Nieuws.