Court proceedings against a rejected Iranian asylum seeker who threw a pan of hot oil over two employees of an asylum center in the Netherlands begin this week as prosecutors reveal his victims have been mutilated for life as cited by De Telegraaf.
The attack took place in January last year at the Sweikhuizen asylum center located in the south of the country, near the German border. The 42-year-old attacker, known as Tarek. S, is accused of pouring burning hot oil from the third floor of the facility down a stairwell, targeting two female employees.
Both victims sustained life-changing injuries and were transported to a burns injury unit in Aachen, Germany. “She has not been able to work, she is incapacitated for work. She worked there with heart and soul and is now scarred for life,” said Nino Pennino, a personal injury attorney for one of the victims, months after the attack.
According to reports in the Dutch media, the Iranian migrant had been refused asylum in the Netherlands several times and had wanted to force his stay in the country. He reportedly stated he would rather be in a Dutch prison than be returned to Iran.
He has made no attempts to be released from pre-trial detention which he has been subjected to following his arrest 18 months ago. He initially refused to appoint a lawyer; however, a Dutch court expressed concerns over his mental state and assigned him counsel.
The public prosecutor’s office referred the accused to the Pieter Baan Center, a forensic psychiatric observation clinic in Almere, last year to ascertain his psychological condition, but the Iranian did not sufficiently cooperate with the examination to produce a report.
Proceedings will begin in the court in Maastricht on Tuesday.
