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Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Who was Dr Florian Willet? Euthanasia activist dies by assisted suicide after traumatic arrest
Dr. Florian Willet, a right-to-die campaigner who was held for using a 'suicide pod' for the first time, has died by assisted suicide in Switzerland, as per the device's inventor, the UK Independent reported. Dr. Florian Willet, 47, was arrested in 2024 on suspicion of 'inciting and abetting suicide' and 'strong suspicion of the commission of an intentional homicide' in relation to the demise of a 64-year-old woman. In December, Willet was released from detention two months after authorities ruled out the possibility of a deliberate homicide. Dr. Philip Nitschke, the head of Exit International and the man behind the Sarco pod, claimed that Dr. Willet suffered from severe psychological issues. Dr. Nitschke informed the Dutch news agency Volkskrant that Dr. Willet committed suicide last month. Dr. Nitschke further stated that Florian was a different person when he was abruptly and surprisingly freed from pre-trial prison in early December 2024. 'Gone was his warm smile and self-confidence. In its place was a man who seemed deeply traumatised by the experience of incarceration and the wrongful accusation of strangulation.' Also Read: What is The Detroit Cowboy? Trump promotes Kid Rock's new 'MAGA' restaurant in Nashville after ICE raid The activist's companion Laura told the Dutch media that he had transformed after the arrest. According to her, 'This friendly, positive man had changed into an anxious, suspicious person who no longer trusted even his best friends.' Stressing that Willet lived in his own universe, Laura said that he grew more estranged from his friends. Dr. Willet, the leader of the euthanasia advocacy group The Last Resort, was freed by Schaffhausen authorities in the northern part of the district following the alleged first use of the Sarco suicide capsule, a sealed container that emits gas at the touch of a button. While the officials no longer suspected deliberate homicide, the Swiss prosecutors said they still had a 'strong suspicion of the crime of inciting and abetting suicide.' Dr. Nitschke described the claims that the woman may have been choked as 'absurd,' adding that he saw the woman's death on camera in a wood in the Schaffhausen area close to the German border.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Suicide pod activist takes his own life aged 47 after ‘trauma' of arrest
A right-to-die activist questioned for murder after the death of a woman using a suicide pod has died by assisted suicide. Florian Willet suffered a mental health crisis after he was arrested by Swiss police in September last year, said Philip Nitschke, the inventor of the Sarco suicide capsule. Mr Willet was the director of Last Resort, the Swiss suicide organisation, which was set up to facilitate the use of the Sarco. The 47-year-old German was investigated for aiding and abetting suicide. Prosecutors also investigated whether he had strangled the woman, but that was ruled out before he was released in December after 70 days of pre-trial detention. 'Gone was his warm smile and self-confidence. In its place was a man who seemed deeply traumatised by the experience of incarceration and the wrongful accusation of strangulation,' said Mr Nitschke, the director of Exit International, the pro euthanasia group. The Australian former physician, who is called 'Doctor Death' by his critics, said Mr Willet sought help and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital twice before his death on May 5. Mr Nitschke told the Dutch newspaper Volkskrant that Mr Willet had died in Germany with the help of an unnamed specialised organisation. It is not known how he died. 'To describe Florian is to talk of a man who was thoughtful, caring, funny, and friendly. He was an easy person to be around,' said Mr Nitschke, who lives in the Netherlands. 'But most of all, Florian was kind. Florian was also passionate about a person's right to choose when to die.' Suicide is legal under certain conditions in Switzerland, but the pod had never been used before and there were warnings it would be illegal. Mr Willet was the only person present when a 64-year-old American woman, who has not been named, pressed a button to fill the Sarco pod with nitrogen gas. The woman had suffered from an immune disease. He informed the authorities after her death in a forest in the canton of Schaffhausen but was arrested, along with several others, including a newspaper photographer. They were later released but Mr Willet, a former media spokesman for euthanasia clinic Dignitas, continued to be detained. He had described the first death in the controversial Sarco pod as 'peaceful, fast and dignified'. The 3D-printable capsule cost about £550,000 to research and develop in the Netherlands over 12 years. Last Resort has said that future reusable pods could cost about £12,600. 'By the age of five I took my own dying by suicide into consideration,' Mr Willet said in an interview before his arrest. He revealed his father had died by suicide when he was 14 and claimed he was 'completely fine with it.' He added: 'I was extremely sad because I loved my father. But, I understood immediately my father wanted to do this because he was a rational person, which means that expecting him to remain alive just because I need a father would mean extending his suffering.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Euronews
17-04-2025
- Climate
- Euronews
On thin ice: Why this legendary Dutch skating race may never happen again
ADVERTISEMENT From the Alaskan Iditarod to the Winter Olympics, climate change has put many winter sporting traditions at risk. While some have managed to adapt to rising temperatures and unpredictable snowfall, a time-honoured Dutch tradition may be gliding toward extinction. The Elfstedentocht – or 'Eleven Cities Tour' – is a legendary 200-kilometre ice-skating race and leisure tour that winds through naturally frozen canals in the northern Friesland region of the Netherlands. But 2025 will mark 28 years since the last event was held. According to new climate research, the odds of it happening again are shrinking fast. A once-every-four-years tradition may now only happen once a generation The Elfstedentocht requires perfect conditions to take place. It must be cold enough, for long enough, for the ice to become 15 centimetres thick along the entire course so that it can accommodate the pressure of the 15,000 amateur skaters who join the event. For that thick, stable ice to form, there must be at least 15 consecutive days of sub-4.2 °C weather – combined with dry conditions. In the 20th century, an Elfstedentocht could be expected every four to five years. According to a new study published in Climate Change, the Elfstedentocht might now take place just once every 32 years. Related Pumped up pollen: How climate change could be making your seasonal allergies worse Deadly floods, storms and heatwaves: Europe suffered the 'serious impacts' of climate change in 2024 Hans Visser and Arthur Petersen, two researchers who worked with the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) on this study, warn that a warming planet wreaking havoc on weather patterns has made the ideal conditions increasingly elusive. A cultural icon on thin ice Since its official founding in 1909, the Elfstedentocht has only been held 15 times, with the most recent in 1997. In the decades since, there have been several 'close calls,' including a near-run in 2012, but the canals were never quite frozen enough. 'We still have the occasional outlier. Like in 2012, when it almost came to an Elfstedentocht,' Hylke de Vries of the KNMI told de Volkskrant. 'But then the winter in the weeks before hadn't been very cold, and the water was still relatively warm. Then it takes a few extra days for everything to freeze over. Snowfall can also lead to ice, but the ice doesn't get thicker quickly.' Other models using different forecasting techniques are slightly more optimistic about the Elfstedentocht. The KNMI estimates that optimal conditions might occur once every 14 years. Related Electric cars, leaky homes, and food: How does France plan to get emissions cuts back on track? Lego says new factory in Vietnam will make toys without without adding emissions to the atmosphere But researchers agree on one thing: without significant cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, the Elfstedentocht may become a relic of the past. If emissions are drastically reduced, the chance of an Elfstedentocht will remain approximately the same as now in the decades to come. If emissions increase, there may not be another Elfstedentocht after the end of this century, according to the study. 'The chances of [proper conditions] decrease with global warming, no matter how you calculate that chance,' said de Vries. Winter sports everywhere are under threat The Netherlands is far from alone with the wintry disruptions it faces. Across Europe and beyond, winter sports have become increasingly vulnerable to climate change. ADVERTISEMENT A 2024 report by the World Meteorological Organization found that only 10 countries will have a climate-reliable outlook for snow sport events by 2040. Activists have also drawn attention to how ski resorts and sporting events are contributing to the problem, not just suffering from it. Last year, a group calculated that Audi's sponsorship of the Ski World Cup would contribute 103,000-144,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions to highlight environmental contradictions. Meanwhile, alpine regions are investing heavily in artificial snow – a money-, energy- and water-intensive process – and other infrastructure improvements to maintain ski seasons. ADVERTISEMENT But for events like the Elfstedentocht, there's no artificial fix. It's natural ice or nothing.
