Freddy Horion Released with Ankle Monitor After 46 Years

Freddy Horion (78), one of Belgium’s longest-serving prisoners, has been released from prison after 46 years behind bars. The Sentence Enforcement Court in Ghent ruled on June 1 that Horion may leave prison with an electronic ankle monitor and be admitted to a forensic care center, as VRT NWS reported.

Horion was convicted in 1980 for six murders: the killing of Hélène Lichachevski, a shopkeeper in Ghent’s port area on February 9, 1979, and the quintuple murder of the Steyaert family in Sint-Amandsberg on June 23, 1979. He was originally sentenced to death, which was automatically commuted to life imprisonment under Belgian law.

The Crimes That Shocked Belgium

On June 23, 1979, Horion and his accomplice Roland Feneulle invaded the home of auto dealer Roland Steyaert in Sint-Amandsberg, near Ghent. What began as a robbery escalated into a cold-blooded massacre. The pair murdered Roland Steyaert, his wife Leona, their daughters Hilde (13) and Anne-Marie (22), and Anne-Marie’s fiancé Marc De Croock. The total loot was a mere 4,000 Belgian francs — approximately €100 today — along with some jewelry and antiques.

Just months earlier, on February 9, 1979, Horion had shot and killed Hélène Lichachevski, a Polish shopkeeper in Ghent’s port area, using the same weapon. According to NOS, Horion now denies killing Lichachevski, claiming he was present but someone else fired the fatal shot.

A Decades-Long Legal Battle

Horion’s path to release was anything but straightforward. Beginning in 1993, he made more than 30 requests for early release, all of which were denied. The victims’ families, particularly Johan Steyaert — brother of Roland — strongly opposed any form of release. “He can turn 100, but then behind bars,” Steyaert said in earlier VRT reporting.

In 2018, a team of forensic psychiatrists determined that Horion was no longer dangerous and no longer belonged in prison but rather in a forensic psychiatric center. When this was not implemented, Horion took his case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

In May 2023, the ECHR ruled that Belgium’s continued detention of Horion violated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment, as VRT NWS reported. The court found that keeping Horion in prison after he was deemed no longer dangerous and without a reintegration plan constituted a violation of his rights.

Following the ECHR ruling, the Antwerp Court of Appeal ordered in December 2023 that Horion be transferred to an institution outside prison, with a penalty of €1,000 per day for non-compliance. The state appealed but lost.

The Euthanasia Request

Frustrated by repeated failures to secure his release, Horion applied for euthanasia in May 2025 due to unbearable psychological suffering. His lawyer, Jürgen Millen, confirmed the application, as VRT NWS reported.

Criminologist Tom Daems of KU Leuven commented at the time: “Horion is in an impasse, the Belgian government is failing to take steps toward a reintegration trajectory. That’s why he now finds it necessary to submit that euthanasia request.”

Millen emphasized that the euthanasia request was genuine and not a pressure tactic. “He wants to seize this opportunity with both hands,” Millen said of Horion’s release.

Strict Conditions and a New Chapter

The court imposed strict conditions on Horion’s release. He must meticulously follow a treatment program, adhere to the rules of the institution, and comply with a contact ban with the victims’ relatives and a regional ban. The Public Prosecutor’s Office of East Flanders confirmed it will not appeal the decision.

“A transition to an outpatient plan can only proceed with the approval of the sentence enforcement court,” the prosecutor’s office stated.

The Belgian state now faces approximately €800,000 in accumulated penalty payments for failing to transfer Horion to a suitable institution earlier. It remains unclear whether this amount will actually be paid.

Broader Implications

Horion’s case raises significant questions about Belgium’s treatment of long-term prisoners and the lack of reintegration pathways for those serving life sentences. The ECHR’s intervention underscores the tension between public safety concerns and human rights obligations in cases involving violent offenders.

As Horion begins his transition to a forensic care center at age 78, questions remain about how he will adapt after nearly five decades of institutionalization — and whether this case will finally spur broader reforms in Belgium’s approach to long-term incarceration.