A Syrian migrant with prior confrontations with police was sentenced to only two and a half years in prison for attempted manslaughter after stabbing his elderly female neighbor six times in her home, following months of harassment. The court cited the man’s alleged schizophrenia for the unusually light sentence and ordered him to go on compulsory psychiatric treatment as well.
In June 2023, the 60-year-old Dutch woman was sunbathing in her garden in Helmond, North Brabant, when her neighbor, 34-year-old Subhi Al H., threw an ashtray and a glass bottle at her from his balcony.
When she fled indoors, she was confronted in her own kitchen by the man, who stabbed her six times and left her in a pool of blood.
Her life was saved only by the quick response from another neighbor who witnessed the initial attack. The elderly woman later moved out of her home, and now suffers from daily debilitating pain.
Later, she told the local daily Omroep Brabant that she was subjected to endless harassment and intimidation by the Syrian man in the months leading up to the attack. “He used my garden as an ashtray, played loud Arabic music in the middle of the night, and even urinated from his balcony,” the victim described.
Under Dutch law, the attack would have normally been classified as attempted murder—rather than manslaughter—which carries a punishment of up to 20 years in prison, especially given the suspect’s violent past that was known to police.
However, Al H. pleaded innocent in court and claimed it was somebody else who carried out the attack, statements that his defense used to portray him as schizophrenic and request either acquittal or alternative treatment options.
The court accepted the schizophrenia claim but ruled that the suspect still poses a danger to the public, hence the limited prison sentence, psychiatric care, and a payment of €14,000 in damages to the victim.
