Dutch authorities may have ignored psychiatric needs of Albert Heijn stabbing suspect

Jamel L., the man suspected of stabbing an Albert Heijn employee to death at a supermarket in the center of The Hague on Tuesday, was not admitted to a psychiatric prison in the Netherlands partlyb because of the costs. That is evident from documents from the court in Curacao that the ANP has in its possession.

Minister Franc Weerwind (Legal Protection) is launching an investigation into how the man was handled in the past. Jamel L. was previously sentenced to institutionalized psychiatric treatment (TBS) in Curacao, but it is not clear whether and how that was implemented there, Weerwind said in a letter to parliament. He said he was “deeply shocked” by the stabbing on Tuesday, in which an Albert Heijn employee died, and that he sympathizes with her loved ones.

The Minister confirmed that his predecessor Sander Dekker rejected a request in 2018 to take over L.’s institutionalized treatment from Curacao. He wrote that “Curacao does not have a TBS system as we know it in the Netherlands.” Weerwind did not elaborate on the reason for the refusal.

Weerwind has requested information about the implementation of the TBS sentence from the Curacao government. L. was convicted of violent crimes several times - in Curacao and England - and was considered a serious danger.

Since September 2022, the suspect has had several contacts with the police in the Netherlands. According to the Minister, this happened in Zeeland, the Rotterdam region, and The Hague because of new crimes. The Public Prosecution Service recently prosecuted him for threats and violence in Rotterdam. The court acquitted the man of a violent robbery on June 9, sentencing him to time served only for threats. L. was immediately released from custody.

“The file of the person concerned is currently under investigation. The Justice and Security Inspectorate has also been informed. It is making an inventory of available information. Based on this, it will consider whether an investigation is opportune, also given its mandate,” Weerwind wrote. “If there are lessons to be learned from an incident like this, then we will do so. This should minimize the chance of a recurrence.”