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The suffering of Shanti De Corte: 23-yr-old ISIS attack survivor EUTHANIZED after unbearable PTSD

While Shanti De Corte escaped the incident without physical injuries, she suffered from depression and PTSD which she never managed to liberate from

ANTWERP, BELGIUM: After being unable to mentally recover from the ISIS bomb attack at the Belgian airport in 2016, Shanti De Corti chose to be euthanized on May 7, 2022, surrounded by her family.

Shanti was accompanied by her schoolmates ahead of a trip to Italy in March 2016, when Islamic State terrorists set off a bomb. It was followed by two other detonations of explosives which killed 32 people and injured more than 300. While the then 17-year-old Shanti escaped the incident without physical injuries, she suffered from depression and PTSD which she never managed to liberate from. As per reported by RTBF, Shanti chose to be euthanized due to "unbearable psychiatric suffering."

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Shanti's mother Marielle spoke about her daughter's tragic story for the first time on VRT, "That day really cracked her, she never felt safe after that. She didn't want to go anywhere where other people were, out of fear. She also had frequent panic attacks and she never got rid of them." With her mental health increasingly deteriorating as the years passed, Shanti at the age of 23 opted to be euthanized on May 7, 2022, after the approval of two psychiatrists. 'Euthanasia' is a legal practice to die with dignity for individuals who are - in a "medically futile condition of constant and unbearable physical or mental suffering that cannot be alleviated, resulting from a serious and incurable disorder caused by illness or accident."

The psychological effects of the attack took a toll on Shanti's mental health to such an extent that the survivor had frequent panic attacks and clinical depression which became hard to avoid. Shanti had psychiatric help in her hometown Antwerp, Belgium where she was treated for rehabilitation and prescribed dozens of anti-depressants for her aid. However, the medical and psychological treatments were not fruitful.

Shanti's school psychologist spoke about the young woman's several rounds of depression before eventually taking her life, "There are some students who react worse than others to traumatic events. And having interviewed her twice, I can tell you that Shanti De Corte was one of those fragile students." Shanti was treated regularly at Antwerp hospital when she attempted suicide after an altercation with another patient who sexually assaulted her in 2018. She tried to kill herself once again in 2020 before choosing the legal practice to end her pain and suffering, as reported by the UK Sun. 

The ISIS bomb attack survivor often took to social media to speak about her excessive medicine intake, "I get a few medications for breakfast. And up to 11 antidepressants a day. I couldn't live without it. With all the medications I take, I feel like a ghost that can't feel anything anymore. Maybe there were other solutions than medications." On the day Shanti was euthanized, she wrote on social media for the last time, "I was laughing and crying. Until the last day. I loved and was allowed to feel what true love is. Now I will go away in peace. Know that I miss you already." 

Antwerp prosecutors have started an investigation after receiving complaints from neurologist Paul Deltenre at the UZC Brugman academic clinical hospital in Brussels who argued that the decision to euthanize Shanti was made hastily. He stated that there were still other procedures for care and treatment that were not applied or tried with the patient, as reported by RTBF.