Swiss survivor demands appeal after Erasmus Bridge attacker sent to psychiatric care

A Swiss man who survived a knife attack at the Erasmus Bridge and the German relatives of a Rotterdam man killed in the same incident called Friday’s court ruling “extraordinarily disappointing” and urged the Dutch Public Prosecution Service to appeal.

The Rotterdam District Court ordered Ayoub M., a 23-year-old from Amersfoort, to undergo TBS, a Dutch measure for compulsory psychiatric treatment for offenders deemed mentally ill. The court did not impose a prison sentence for the killing of the 32-year-old Rotterdam man, who was skating at the foot of the Erasmus Bridge when he was attacked. The Swiss survivor was also stabbed but survived.

The murdered man's partner, however, said he accepted the ruling. “For me, it was especially important that the murderer get help and that this cannot happen again,” he said. “If this man was so disturbed that he did this in a state in which he was no longer himself, then I find this an appropriate judgment. Then he gets the help he needs.”

Through their lawyer, Sébas Diekstra, the survivors said the court’s decision did not sufficiently consider the suspect’s responsibility for his actions. “They believe that the considerations and the final conclusion of the court do insufficient justice to the facts and circumstances of this case,” Diekstra said. “Clients therefore hope that the Public Prosecution Service sees reason to file an appeal.”

The Public Prosecution Service had sought a 20-year prison sentence in addition to TBS. The partner said incarceration was not his priority. “For me, the prison sentence is not necessarily important. I want him to be treated, and I want to ensure that this cannot happen again,” he said.

During the trial, the partner described his life companion as intelligent and passionate. “He made the world a more beautiful place,” he said. After the verdict, he said he would try “to take the beautiful things of him with me and pass them on.”