# Erasmus shooter and prosecutors both want life sentence replaced

> Both the prosecution and Fouad L. want his life sentence for the 2023 triple murder replaced by a shorter prison term with compulsory psychiatric treatment. Six hearing days have been set aside.

Society · published 2026-11-12 06:36 · https://nlnow.nl/a/erasmus-shooter-s-appeal-over-life-sentence-begins-in-rotterdam/

The appeal against Fouad L., the Erasmus shooter, has begun in Rotterdam. The 35-year-old medical student killed three people on 28 September 2023 and was jailed for life last year. Six hearing days are planned in the heavily secured courtroom of the Rotterdam district court.

The appeal is about the sentence only, because L. has confessed. The Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie) had demanded thirty years in prison followed by tbs, compulsory psychiatric treatment. The district court went further and imposed a life sentence. Now the prosecution and L. both want that changed to a shorter prison term combined with tbs.

L. has a new lawyer in the appeal: Theo Hiddema, the veteran defence lawyer and former politician. Hiddema said from the start that L. does not belong in prison but should be treated.

Experts from the Pieter Baan Centrum have been summoned. They re-examined L. to assess how accountable he was for his actions at the time of the murders.

For the relatives of the victims, the appeal means going through it all again. A spokesperson for Namens de Familie, which supports the relatives of Marlous and her daughter Romy, said: "They dread having to endure that whole process again and sitting once more in the same room as the murderer of their daughter, mother and sister." They will use their right to speak in court again, the spokesperson said, partly because Marlous and Romy can no longer do so themselves.

## Background

- **OM (Openbaar Ministerie)**: The Public Prosecution Service of the Netherlands is the body that investigates crimes together with the police, decides whether to prosecute, and presents the state's case in court, including the sentence it asks for. It is headed by the Board of Procurators General and operates through prosecutors' offices across the country. Its role is central to the Dutch criminal justice system, since no criminal case reaches a judge without a prosecutor deciding to bring it.
- **tbs (terbeschikkingstelling)**: Tbs is a court-ordered measure in the Netherlands under which a person with a mental disorder who has committed a serious offence is placed in compulsory psychiatric treatment, usually in a forensic psychiatric clinic. It can be imposed alongside or after a prison sentence, and it is aimed at reducing the risk of re-offending. Because it is linked to the person's treatment and the risk they pose, its duration is not fixed in the same way as a prison term.
- **Pieter Baan Centrum**: The Pieter Baan Centrum (PBC) is the Dutch forensic psychiatric observation centre, where experts examine suspects at the request of the courts. Its reports assess a suspect's mental state and how far they can be held accountable for their actions at the time of the offence. Judges use these findings when deciding on criminal responsibility and on whether a measure such as tbs is needed.

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