Belgium’s €736,000 Debt to Serial Killer Freddy Horion Grows

The Belgian state has accumulated a debt of €736,000 to six-time murderer Freddy Horion (78), and the amount continues to increase by €1,000 every day. The unprecedented penalty stems from Belgium’s failure to comply with a court order to transfer Horion from prison to a closed psychiatric facility, raising uncomfortable questions about the intersection of human rights obligations, public sentiment, and systemic gridlock.

How Did We Get Here?

Freddy Horion is one of Belgium’s most notorious criminals. On June 23, 1979, he and accomplice Roland Feneulle approached garage owner Roland Steyaert in Sint-Amandsberg under the pretense of buying a car. Once inside the home, they executed five members of the Steyaert family: Roland (45), his wife Leona (47), their daughters Hilde (13) and Anne-Marie (22), and her fiancé Marc (24). The same weapon was later linked to the earlier murder of shop assistant Helene Lichachevsky.

Horion was sentenced to death in 1980, but since Belgium had effectively abolished capital punishment (executions ceased after 1950), the sentence was automatically commuted to life imprisonment. Now 78, he has spent 47 years behind bars, making him the second-longest-serving prisoner in Belgium after Staf Van Eyken, who has served 54 years.

The Psychiatric Impasse

For more than two decades, Horion’s repeated applications for release were rejected based on negative psychiatric reports. But in 2018, three court-appointed psychiatrists reached a different conclusion: Horion no longer belonged in prison. They recommended placement in a closed forensic psychiatric facility as a transitional step toward supervised release.

However, Belgium’s system only accommodates “interned” persons — those found not criminally responsible due to mental illness — in such facilities, not convicted prisoners. As Horion himself put it in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws: “The problem is that I don’t have a problem. I’m not a psychopath. Otherwise I’d have been out long ago.” No facility agreed to accept him, creating a legal deadlock.

European Court Intervention

In May 2023, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Belgium’s treatment of Horion violated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment. The court found that indefinite detention without a realistic prospect of release — following the precedent set in Vinter v. UK (2013) — constituted a human rights violation.

Building on that ruling, the Antwerp Court of Appeal ordered on November 13, 2023, that Horion be transferred within six months, with a penalty of €1,000 per day for non-compliance. The deadline passed on May 13, 2024, and the penalty has been accruing ever since.

The Growing Bill

As of May 20, 2026, Belgium owes Horion €736,000 — 736 days at €1,000 per day. The amount continues to rise with each passing day that Horion remains in prison without a suitable placement.

According to VRT NWS, Horion’s lawyer Jurgen Millen stated: “It is absolutely not about the money for my client. He is asking for an effective chance to be released after all these years of imprisonment.” Horion himself initially said he didn’t want the money, telling HLN: “I don’t need money from the taxpayer. What would I do with it anyway?” However, his lawyers have since indicated they may pursue payment to pressure the government into action.

Secret Recordings and a Broken Romance

Complicating matters further, Horion’s ex-girlfriend, identified only as C., secretly recorded 59 prison visits and submitted them to the Justice Ministry on a USB stick. The recordings reportedly captured Horion calling a female judge a “stupid woman” and making racist remarks. According to HLN’s reporting, the recordings showed no remorse or insight into his crimes, but rather a sense of injustice. The West Flanders prosecutor’s office closed the investigation without charges, but the content may influence the Sentence Implementation Court (SURB).

C. also allegedly took €45,000 of Horion’s prison savings, money he had entrusted to her for their future together after his release, as reported by HLN.

What Happens Next?

The SURB hearing scheduled for May 19, 2026, was postponed to June 1, 2026. A potential solution under consideration involves transferring Horion to a closed institution where he would wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, with a warning system for the brother of victim Roland Steyaert.

Former Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt expressed caution, noting that psychosocial reports suggested Horion “could still be dangerous” and that there was a risk of manipulation, as P-Magazine reported.

A Symbol of Systemic Failure

The Horion case has become a painful symbol of Belgium’s inability to implement court orders. The penalty mechanism designed to compel action has instead created a growing financial liability without resolving the underlying issue. Whether Horion is eventually transferred, released, or remains in prison, the €736,000 (and counting) represents a stark illustration of a justice system caught between human rights obligations and institutional paralysis.

The counter keeps running. And with the next SURB hearing not until June 1, it will have grown further still.