Belgium grants jailed rapist, murderer euthanasia

Brussels: A Belgian official says a convicted rapist and murderer who has been imprisoned for almost three decades has been granted the right to die after doctors agreed his psychological condition was incurable.

The official said on Tuesday Belgium’s justice minister approved Frank Van Den Bleeken’s transfer to a hospital where doctors will end his life.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the case publicly.

The convict’s lawyer, Jos Vander Velpen, told Belgian television on Monday his client was “suffering unbearably.”