A Lebanese youth in the Shiyyah area stabbed his mother while she was praying in their home, leading to her death. The perpetrator, Hadi S., suffers from schizophrenia, a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects an individual's thinking, feelings, and behavior. The patient may hear nonexistent voices or believe others are trying to harm them, causing their imagined thoughts to mix with reality.
Law enforcement arrested the young man on charges of stabbing his mother in the neck and head with a sharp knife during her noon prayer. He appeared in a recorded video mumbling incomprehensible words and seemed disoriented or under the influence of drugs.
Neighbors confirmed that the young man had recently been showing symptoms of schizophrenia, with his condition worsening significantly. In the past, he had not complained of any symptoms, and everyone had witnessed his good behavior.
Hadi is a victim and not a criminal; he is a victim of a society lacking awareness about mental health treatment and a victim of the social stigma surrounding mental health patients. Hadi did not receive treatment and his case was not followed up by a specialized mental health professional. Instead, his mother relied on advice from a religious figure who had been monitoring her son's condition without finding a solution.
Hadi's fate remains unclear, especially since Lebanese prisons are not equipped to handle such psychological cases that pose a danger to themselves and others.
Waafa Al-Areedhi - Joussour
