Afghan who stabbed US tourists wanted to “protect the prophet”

An Afghan who stabbed two American tourists at Amsterdam Central Station last year has motivated his act by defending Islam. He wanted to kill “cruel and dishonest people,” said the 20-year-old man on the first day of his trial. The two Americans were fatally wounded.

Jawed S. lived in Germany. His asylum application was rejected there. He came by train from Germany to the Netherlands. “I had come to the Netherlands to protect my prophet,” he said at the start of his trial. The man wanted to defend him against the insults of PVV leader Geert Wilders. The cartoon competition about the prophet Mohammed, written by Wilders (and later called off), would have been the direct cause of the Afghan anger.

However, his intention was not to do anything to Americans. He wanted to attack the Dutch with his terrorist attack because in his eyes he did nothing against the insults that Wilders made towards his prophet. The man is charged with attempted murder or manslaughter with a terrorist motive.

The Afghan says he has no mental illness. “I am in perfect health from a psychological point of view,” said Jawed S. He returned to an earlier statement in which he would have said that he did suffer from psychological complaints. The investigation into the mental health of S. in the Pieter Baan Center (PBC), the observation clinic of justice in the Netherlands, has necessarily been minimal.

Issues

One of the reasons for this was that S., during an introductory session, reiterated his willingness to use violence. As a result, he has been in a lot of seclusions because the PBC was forced to put the safety of personnel and detainees first.

Besides, the mainly Afghan refused to cooperate in the investigation in the PBC. The problems surrounding the investigation have meant that the experts have hardly been able to conclude his psychological state.

One of the American tourists suffered an “almost complete paraplegia” due to the stabbing. He is still in a wheelchair. According to the judge, his spinal cord was almost completely cut. The second victim was hit under his right chest and in his right forearm. He had arterial bleeding and had to be operated on urgently. Damage to a nerve gives the man a dull and tingling sensation in his arm.

After his act of terror, the Afghan was shot by agents. It is not yet clear when a judgment is expected in the process.

Source
Belga
Show More

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button