In January of this year, the Marechausse transferred a TBS patient to his native Benin. The facts surrounding his case are similar to those of the convicted Alasam S., who killed his girlfriend and a police officer in 2011. The Van Mesdag clinic told Crimesite on Thursday that it could not confirm that it was S. because of the privacy of its patients.
By Joost van der Wegen
Transferred
At the end of January, a TBS patient was transferred from the Van Mesdag clinic to his native Benin, in West Africa. It seems to be Alasam S. He is the murderer of his girlfriend Renske Hekman and the Groningen policeman Dick Haveman, who was convicted in 2014. He was 25 years old at the time.
Unwanted
The Van Mesdag clinic writes on social media this week that the patient returned to his home country is a ‘declared undesirable alien, with a non-Dutch nationality. He has been stripped of his Dutch right of residence by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND).’
The Van Mesdag Clinic indicates through its press spokesperson at Crimesite that it cannot confirm whether it concerns Alasam S., because it cannot share information about its patients. She also does not want to give any confirmation in response to the extensive information that she herself places on her website.
In an interview on the Van Mesdag social media with the so-called transfer coordinator of the clinic, he indicates that the repatriation of the patient had Benin as the final destination. There, according to the employee, he was taken care of at a private psychiatric clinic. The man indicated that he had extensive consultations with the clinic about this.
An aunt of the TBS prisoner sent the man’s expired ID card for the purpose of leaving for Benin. In the case of S., this was the last hurdle in his possible return, the court previously stated.
On arrival in Benin, the employee of the Van Mesdag clinic visited the clinic in that country: ‘A room was assigned to him at the clinic; I have spoken extensively with the psychiatrist, social worker and a financial man. I explained to them what the patient needed from them, what his points of attention are, what medicines he needs, etc.’
Baflo
This deportation seems to concern Alasam Samarie, born in 1985, from Benin. He was convicted by the court in 2014 of manslaughter, of which Hekman and Haveman fell victim. Samarie is said to have been in a psychosis after his application for a residence permit was definitively rejected.
On April 13, 2011, Samarie killed 29-year-old Hekman by hitting her with a fire extinguisher. Just outside the village of Baflo, he managed to take the gun from the pursuing 48-year-old agent Haveman and shot him dead. An officer and a bystander were also injured. Samarie was arrested shortly after, after a shootout.
Psychosis
In 2013, Samarie was sentenced to 28 years in prison by the court. The court reduced this to six years and TBS, because when Hekman was murdered he would have been in a psychosis under the influence of a drug, and he was therefore mentally insane. According to the court, this played less of a role in the death of the agent.
Before he killed, S.’ asylum application definitively rejected. Alasam S. previously stated to the IND that he had witnessed the violent death of his parents in his motherland, in an incoherent statement.
What was special about the case was that Hekman’s parents kept in touch with Samarie, and her father even wrote a book with him about the events. They forgave him for his actions, also because they thought that S. had committed the murders under the influence of the anti-depressant paroxetine. According to Hekman’s father, this would have led to more fatal violent behavior among users worldwide.
In the last judgment of the court in March last year, it indicated that S. could return to Benin because his treatment had reached the ‘ceiling’ and his family was willing to take him in. S. had also served 5.5 years of his sentence. The condition was that his treatment would be taken over in Benin.
Guided
According to the Van Mesdag clinic, it has been agreed with the clinic in Benin that the former forensic detainee will remain internally for four months, that he may only go out with supervision, and that this will be built up in phases. In the four months he will be looked for a supervised form of housing and work.
The employee of the Van Mesdag clinic in the interview: ‘Our medical service made sure that medication was ready for a number of weeks. The return & departure service of the ministry arranged the flight and informed the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee. Marechaussees ensure safety during the journey. Sociotherapy has also done a lot in the preparation; not only packing the suitcases together with the patient, preparing the medication, but also talking to the patient about his family, work he could do there, etc. ‘
They also make sure he is insured. If he leaves, a social worker will remain involved with him for as long as necessary. The patient has already made contact with his family. After a few days I received an app from the patient with a photo. He’s doing well, he’s happy with the opportunity he’s been given.’
If the TBS prisoner nevertheless returns to the Netherlands against the agreements, his TBS order will immediately start again for him. Which means that he will be admitted to a closed clinic again.
