Mohammed Taoussi has been sentenced to life imprisonment for killing his toddler Wassim, after a jury found him guilty of murder with a discriminatory motive linked to the child's suspected autism.
The Luxembourg Assize Court handed down the maximum sentence on Friday, as requested by prosecutors. The jury deliberated for around two hours before following the advocate general's argument that there were no mitigating circumstances.
Taoussi will also be subject to a minimum term, meaning he must serve at least 25 years before he can apply for conditional release.
The case dates back to November 2023, when the three-year-old Wassim died after being violently assaulted at his father's home in Habay, in Luxembourg province.
The child had suffered repeated violence and deprivation of food and care in the period leading up to his death, though his father initially denied deliberately killing him, setting the stage for the assize trial that concluded this week.
Wassim had shown signs of autism, including delays in speech and social development. His father, however, had resisted having him diagnosed. During the trial, prosecutors portrayed this as central to understanding the violence inflicted on the child.
Several weeks before Wassim's death, Taoussi had told someone close to him that if his son was "still like that" by the age of five, he would "bury him in a wood."
The 12 jurors began deliberating shortly before 16:00 on Thursday and returned their verdict around three hours later.
They followed the case put forward by advocate general Julien Docquier, who argued that Taoussi deliberately killed his son and had grown resentful towards him, whom he regarded as the source of his problems.
The violence inflicted on the toddler was also central to the prosecution's case. A forensic examination found around 80 injuries on Wassim's body. Medical findings pointed to blows to the head and strangulation.
Prosecutors also argued that Taoussi deliberately directed doctors towards the wrong explanation for his son's condition as they attempted to resuscitate him.
The case has raised questions over how signs of abuse can go undetected despite contact with child protection services.
Belgium's Youth Assistance Service (SAJ) had been following the family since 2022, and they carried out around 30 announced visits to the home.
Giving evidence during the trial, a senior SAJ official said that staff had not observed behaviour that would have justified alerting prosecutors. Taoussi appeared gentle with his son when social workers were present, she said.
Lawyers representing Wassim's family took a different view. They said a series of warning signs had been present before the child's death.
The jury also found Taoussi guilty of depriving his son of food and care, as well as assault and battery.
His defence maintained that Taoussi had never intended to kill the child.
The jury will decide his sentence on Friday.
