http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2009/06/faith_healer_cancer_case_goes.php
The public prosecution department is to appeal against the not guilty verdict handed down to faith healer Jomanda for her alleged role in the death of tv presenter Silvia Millecam, news agency ANP reports.
The department is also appealing against the decision not to ban two alternative doctors from practising for two years, or to give them suspended jail terms. The docters were found guilty of involvement in Millecam's death but were not punished because the case had taken so long to come to court.
Millecam died from breast cancer in 2001.
Friday 26 June 2009
Sunday 14 June 2009
Spiritual healer acquitted in death of Dutch actress
'Lady of the Light' believed to be in Canada
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/06/12/jomanda-healer-acquitted-millecam.html
A Dutch court acquitted the country's best-known spiritual healer Friday of complicity in the death of a popular actress who died of breast cancer in 2001 after refusing regular medical treatment.
Prosecutors had accused the self-styled healer, Jomanda, of denying Sylvia Millecam proper care by convincing her she had a bacterial infection and not cancer.
Jomanda, known as the "Lady of the Light," did not attend the trial and is believed to be in Canada.
When the proceedings began in May, her lawyer said she had a foreboding about the timing of the trial and believed it would not be safe for her to travel to Amsterdam.
Prosecutors had asked for a 12-month suspended sentence and a two-year ban on Jomanda carrying out her healing meetings.
Judges at Amsterdam District Court said in a written ruling that by supporting Millecam's belief that she was suffering a bacterial infection and not cancer, Jomanda "fell short of the level of care" she should have given Millecam.
However, the judges said Jomanda's support was not responsible for preventing Millecam seeking regular medical treatment.
Two alternative physicians were found guilty of harming Millecam's health by not giving her regular medical treatment for cancer or referring her to another doctor.
However, the judges didn't impose any sentence on either doctor, saying they already had been hurt by poor publicity stemming from the case and been sanctioned by a medical ethics board. The doctors' identities were not released by the court.
The Dutch Association Against Quackery welcomed the ruling as a clarification of the responsibilities of alternative healers.
"But it is disappointing that those involved can, in theory, continue with their healings," the association added.
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/06/12/jomanda-healer-acquitted-millecam.html
A Dutch court acquitted the country's best-known spiritual healer Friday of complicity in the death of a popular actress who died of breast cancer in 2001 after refusing regular medical treatment.
Prosecutors had accused the self-styled healer, Jomanda, of denying Sylvia Millecam proper care by convincing her she had a bacterial infection and not cancer.
Jomanda, known as the "Lady of the Light," did not attend the trial and is believed to be in Canada.
When the proceedings began in May, her lawyer said she had a foreboding about the timing of the trial and believed it would not be safe for her to travel to Amsterdam.
Prosecutors had asked for a 12-month suspended sentence and a two-year ban on Jomanda carrying out her healing meetings.
Judges at Amsterdam District Court said in a written ruling that by supporting Millecam's belief that she was suffering a bacterial infection and not cancer, Jomanda "fell short of the level of care" she should have given Millecam.
However, the judges said Jomanda's support was not responsible for preventing Millecam seeking regular medical treatment.
Two alternative physicians were found guilty of harming Millecam's health by not giving her regular medical treatment for cancer or referring her to another doctor.
However, the judges didn't impose any sentence on either doctor, saying they already had been hurt by poor publicity stemming from the case and been sanctioned by a medical ethics board. The doctors' identities were not released by the court.
The Dutch Association Against Quackery welcomed the ruling as a clarification of the responsibilities of alternative healers.
"But it is disappointing that those involved can, in theory, continue with their healings," the association added.
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