The 43-year-old Afghan man from As, who was sentenced on Tuesday to ten years in prison for setting his former wife on fire three years ago, handed himself in to police on Saturday afternoon, the Limburg public prosecutor’s office has confirmed.
On Tuesday, the court in Tongeren ordered his immediate arrest, in addition to the ten-year prison sentence and the suspension of his civil rights for the same period.
The man attacked his former wife on 31 August 2023, dousing her with a flammable liquid before setting her alight.
Three years later, the victim has already undergone several operations and still lives every day with severe burns and scarring to her chest, hands and face.
Because the man was not present in court when the judgment was delivered on Tuesday, he could not be arrested there.
When officers from the CARMA police zone went to detain him later that afternoon, he had disappeared, raising fears that he had fled abroad.
His lawyer insisted that was not the case and said she remained in close contact with her client.
She said that, although he disagreed with the judgment, he would surrender to police voluntarily.
When he had still not done so by Friday, an international alert was issued.
He eventually reported to a police station on Saturday afternoon.
“He presented himself to the police today and was therefore arrested,” said Laurien Vanderheiden of the Limburg public prosecutor’s office.
