Should the psychiatrist have detained the attacker? “That must be decided by the court because a person is deprived of his freedom”

I begged the doctor not to let him go, is the statement of the mother of the 19-year-old attacker of the children, who raised the question of why he was not detained in the hospital due to the mental disorder for which he was being treated. The inspection checks whether there were any omissions in Zagreb’s Jankomir Hospital, but experts explain that forced hospitalization is rare and is ultimately determined by the court. From the association that helps in the rehabilitation of people with mental disorders, they appeal to citizens not to generalize and additionally stigmatize all people with mental illnesses.

A person should agree to treatment voluntarily, and only in exceptional cases, according to a strict legal procedure, can he be forcibly detained.

– It is not enough that a person has some kind of mental disorder, but he must be a danger to his own or other people’s lives and the environment in order to be forcibly detained. Such a proposal is made by a psychiatrist on the basis of a professional assessment, but the competent county court must be notified. A person has the right to a lawyer, and only the court can order that he remain forcibly detained – explained Slađana Štrkalj-Ivezi, head of the Institute for Social Psychiatry at Vrapče hospital in Zagreb.

If the psychiatrist assesses the county court informs that the person should be detained, and the judge must visit the person within 72 hours. Professor Štrkalj-Ivezić They say that the majority of patients report voluntarily, and that forced detentions are rare. And the fact that a person, as an attacker, has previously attempted suicide is not a reason for detention, but it is information that is taken into account.

– There are many people who have had suicidal thoughts, but at that moment they do not have them or they have undergone treatment. This cannot be the main reason. A person would forcibly restrain himself, if he is in such a psychotic state that he perceives reality wrongly. For example, he claims without evidence that his neighbor will kill him, and she says that she will prevent it by harming the neighbor – explains the psychiatrist.

Kristina Jandrić, vice-president of the association Svitanje, which deals with rehabilitation and help for people with mental disorders, says that it is very bad that some citizens propose their isolation and removal from society.

– This terrible event a number of negative comments are coming, from the fact that they should be closed on Goli otok, and that the children go to special schools. This is something that takes us back 100 years and increases the stigma. It is not necessary to generalize and not all persons with mental illnesses are murderers – said Jandri.