Corporate funding is provided by mutual of america designing customized individual and Group Retirement products. Thats why we are your retirement company. Additional support is provided by and by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. From the tisch wnet studios in Lincoln Center in new york, hari sreenivasan. This is pbs newshour weekend. Sreenivasan good evening. Thanks for joining us. Western europe remains on high alert following the twin terror attacks in france and the foiled terror plot in belgium. In athens today, authorities arrested four men reportedly involved in the thwarted attack on belgian police. In yemen, where the terror attacks against france were hatched, the president s chief of staff was kidnapped by gunmen. And protests continued today around the world over cartoon depictions of the prophet mohammed. This was the scene in niger in west africa, a former french colony and majority Muslim Country where demonstrators set fire to churches and looted shops. At least eight people have been killed there during protests the past two days. Thousands also took part in protests today in pakistan, where some demonstrators burned the french, israeli and american flags and held signs denouncing the depictions as blasphemy. translated look at the double standards of the west, where saying certain things about the holocaust or against the queen of england is a crime. But when blasphemy is committed against the prophet muhammad, they say it is freedom of speech. Sreenivasan in france today, president Francois Hollande said, quoting now, france has principles and values, in particular freedom of expression. All throughout europe, governments are tightening security measures. I. T. N. s Richard Pallot has more on the situation in belgium and in the united kingdom. Reporter as investigations continue at the scene of thursdays shootout, the belgium government admit they dont know if this was part of a wider plot but the police do need help. The Belgium Defense minister saying this wasnt a simple decision but it was necessary at a time when the police are overrun for the army to get involved. In the u. K. , patrols have also been increased today in many jewish areas. There remains no specific intelligence about any particular plots on british soil but one Jewish Charity says theyve had an unprecedented number of calls from those worried of a repeat. At this synagogue in north london, there were plenty celebrate, the sabbath, the religions most holy day as usual. But not everyone is quite as confident. Parents are very anxious. Theyve been calling and theyre very concerned about sending their children on sunday morning to learn. But weve been weve assured them that we have done Everything Possible to assure the safety and security of their children. Reporter the first sabbath since security was stepped up in the u. K. Is passing without incident, but with warnings an attack cannot be ruled out, the Jewish Community here remain on the highest of alert. Richard pallop. Sreenivasan for the latest about steppedup security in belgium we are joined now via skype from brussels by Matthew Dalton. He is a reporter with the wall street journal. On the streets of belgium, where are these troops and and why . Thaerpt positioned throughout the city in certain strategic places around government buildings, ministries, and the reason is because of this plot that was disrupted on thursday evening. The plotters wanted to kill policemen. That was the purpose of their plot. They had police uniforms. They had explosives. They had guns. It was more than 13 people involved in the plot. It was a fairly sophisticated, ambitious effort to try to kill people, kill policemen on the street, and in police stations. So theyre not they believe that theyve rounded up the plot theyve rounded up all the plotters but this is more of a precautionary effort to make sure that if theyve missed anybody, that they have enough firepower in place to fight them. Sreenivasan how is it affecting the mood on the street to see this military presence, to hear about these raids happening . What are people thinking about, talk about . Well, i think theyre pretty shocked. Un belgium has a large moroccan minority, a large muslim minority. Brussels itself is probably about 25 muslim. But the belgians have lived with this minority in peace for a long time, and there havent been major problems until recently until the events in the middle east have really inflamed sentiment among parts of a minority of the muslim population, but nevertheless, youre still talking about, you know a few hundred people, maybe more than that. So i think people generally speaking, are worried about the idea of a multicultural state in belgium. Thats what a lot of people are talking about. The security presence itself is not pervasive, i would say. Sreenivasan another belgium officials have also said that about 350 people have gone from there to fight in wars in iraq and syria and about 100 of them have come back. Thats an enormous number. Thats the highest percapita population in europe. Thats right. There was a Group Starting in 2010, there was a group called sharia for belgium, that was formed in response to belgian efforts to ban the face vail that muslim women wear. Starting in 2011, this group, of muslim fundamentalists you could call them, started plotting to send their members to syria, so there are more than 50 People Associated with this group who have been sent to syria to fight. And then there are other that was kind of the beginning, the first wave of people that left from belgium. But the recruitment happened have a these people and have a others through social media, largely facebook twitter, has drawn friends sometimes family members wives, children, to follow a lot of these people. Sreenivasan all right Matthew Dalton reporter from the wall street journal joining us live on skype from brussels, thank you very much. Thank you. Sreenivasan elsewhere overseas, in tacloban, in the philippines, pope francis defied high winds and a downpour to celebrate an outdoor mass for a throng of worshippers who survived the 2013 typhoon there. The storm killed more than 7,000 people and displaced millions more throughout the country. But a planned meeting with some of the survivors had to be cancelled because of another approaching typhoon. Five men affiliated with the taliban have been arrested in connection with that massacre last month at a military school in pakistan. The attack left 150 people dead, the vast majority of them children. The five were captured by Security Forces in neighboring afghanistan, near the border between the two countries. In the aftermath of the shootings, leaders of the two countries pledged greater cooperation in the fight against the insurgents. An arrest in connection with the abduction and apparent murder of 43 College Students in mexico. Authorities there say they apprehended the leader of a mexican organized crime ring believed responsible for the incident nearly four months ago. Federal mexican Authorities Say local officials were cooperating with the crime group. Burned remains of only one of the students have been identified thus far. Parents of some of the missing students remain convinced that they are still alive. Police in north miami have suspended a Sniper Training program after it was revealed that they used old mugshots of black suspects during target practice. North miami beachs police chief says that none of the departments policies were violated and that no disciplinary action will be taken. The city says photos of whites hispanics and even Osama Bin Laden were also used. The story came to light after a member of the National Guard saw a bulletriddled picture of her brother at the gun range. There were mixed attitudes toward police in a new nationwide survey. Nearly 75 of those polled say they approve of the job local police are doing, but nearly a third of americans believe Police Routinely lie to serve their own interests. Slightly more than half of africanamericans approve of the job police are doing and nearly half of them think police lie. The survey was conducted jointly by reuters and the ipsos polling organization. In the Nations Capital today, hundreds turned out for a rally in support of police. The event was organized by the wives of three Police Officers. Some of the demonstrators held up signs saying police lives matter. Similar events were held in other cities around the country. Another new nationwide poll finds americans increasingly concerned about terrorism. According to pew, 76 of the people it surveyed call terrorism a policy priority for the president and the new congress. That was just barely ahead of the economy as the top priority. During the past two years, there has also been a big increase in the percentage of americans naming strengthening the military as a priority. Sreenivasan and now to our signature segment, our original, indepth reports from around the world about critical issues. Tonight, our focus is assisted suicide. Brittany maynards death last november reignited the debate in this country about the practice. Advocates refer to it as death with dignity, but it is allowed in only a few states and is opposed by many religious groups including the u. S. Conference of catholic bishops. But assisted suicide is much more widespread in the predominantly catholic nation of belgium, and there its not just for terminally ill patients. A warning our report from belgium by the newshours Megan Thompson contains images that some might find difficult to watch. Reporter as she opens the door to her home, this 34year old belgian woman known as eva seems at ease. But actually shes chronically depressed. More than once shes tried to commit suicide. And now shes asking doctors to help her. Help her die by euthanasia all of it captured in a belgian documentary. translated it may seem strange, but i am looking forward to the rest. The choice has been made. The decision has been made. I am looking forward to the rest i have longed for, for so long. Reporter it may sound shocking, but in belgium euthanasia is quite accepted. And its not just for the terminally ill. Chronically depressed patients like eva can request it, too. And so, on a day and time shes chosen, eva says goodbye to her family. translated eva, are you yes, i am ready, doctor. Reporter and then lays down on her couch. Would you like to Say Something to your brother and sisterinlaw . Bye. Sleep well. Thank you. Reporter the man kneeling by her side, about to give her the lethal injection, is her doctor for the past two years, dr. Marc van hoey. Doctor, how many euthanasias have you performed yourself . More than 100 in 12 years time, i think. Reporter dr. Van hoey is a general practitioner and president of one of the leading righttodie organizations in belgium. Hes helped shaped the countrys policy toward euthanasia which can be requested by patients who meet two basic conditions they are experiencing constant and unbearable suffering, either mental or physical; and their condition is incurable. And then patients must put their request in writing. Only thing you have to write down is your name, the date and i want euthanasia, and signature. Reporter in the few american states with laws on the books allowing this, patients must take the lifeending drugs themselves. I will die upstairs in my bedroom they share with my husband. Reportrr like terminal cancer patient Brittany Maynard who recently went to oregon to end her life. But in belgium, its the doctor who must administer the lethal dose, usually an injection. I start with a narcotic drug in a higher dose, to create a deep sleep. And then, later on, we give barbiturate in a shot. If you use an intravenous injection and you do it good, the patient is dead in about one or two minutes. Reporter one or two minutes . Yes. Reporter so it happens very quickly. Yes. You have a lifeline. You say, are you ready . Do you want to go with it . Till the very end we ask do you want to go, because theres no way back. Then we give the injection and whistles its gone. Reporter you talk about it very matteroffactly. Im quite used to talking about assisted dying and so on. Its part of my job. Reporter thats right. In belgium, it can be part of a doctors job to end a patients life. Its been the law since 2002. Belgium has the most liberal euthanasia law in the world. And even though this country is predominantly roman catholic, surveys show overwhelming support here for the right to die by euthanasia. Since the law passed the number of belgians choosing euthanasia has steadily risen each year, with more than 1,800 dying this way in 2013. Thats an average of about five people a day. In 2014, belgium made headlines when it became the first country in the world to extend euthanasia to terminally ill children of any age, although no cases have occurred so far. So, in belgium, its not just the terminally ill who can request euthanasia. Psychiatric patients now children. Is belgium pushing the boundaries when it comes to euthanasia . I dont think so. I dont think so. Reporter Gilles Genicot is a lawyer and cochairman of the euthanasia control and evaluation commission, which oversees the practice in belgium. The law humanizes the deaths of terminally ill patients, on the one hand, and on the other hand, for patients who are not terminally ill but who are completely hopeless, there is a respect to the individual autonomy. I think its a major advance in the way society, law and philosophy see this very important issue. Reporter the 16person Euthanasia Commission, half doctors, half lawyers, meets every month in brussels. By law, after performing euthanasia, doctors must file a report with the commission detailing what they did and why. The commission reviews the reports to be sure conditions set by the law were met. If not, genicot says in the worst case, a doctor could face homicide charges. The reports also must affirm the patients request for euthanasia was voluntary and that two doctors had approved it. Three doctors in the case of psychiatric patients. These are all euthanasia cases from the last few years . Yes. Reporter genicots office is filled with reports of past and future cases. Its the current box. Reporter . And he says the system works well. Giving doctors a practical and humane way to help suffering patients die peacefully. Genicot says some doctors choose to describe that in an optional section of the report. Very, very often it is to express how serene peaceful and quick the procedure was. That the patient was grateful. Said thank you to the doctor. And was surrounded by family and friends. Reporter but it isnt always that way. Tom mortiers mother liefe had a passion for traveling the world but suffered from a lifetime of severe depression. Despite 40 years of therapy with several psychiatrists and treatment with antidepressants, she continued to struggle with suicidal thoughts and hopelessness. Deemed incurable, she was euthanized in a hospital in brussels on april 19, 2012. The date marked in her own calendar. Mother and son were estranged at the time and mortier didnt find out about it until the next day when the hospital called his home with the news. Yeah it was a complete shock. Of course, i knew that my mother was suffering mentally, but she would never have done it herself. She never would have committed suicide. I went to talk with the physician who killed my mother and he told me he was absolutely certain that my mother didnt want to live anymore. And i said, how can you be certain . Reporter when you said, why wasnt i consulted. Why wasnt i involved . What was his response to that . He said my mother didnt want the children to be contacted and he had to fulfill the wish of the patient. The psychic suffering has been too much, and i cant go on. Reporter letters mortiers mother left behind did little to help him make sense of how she died. But wasnt it his mothers choice, and hers alone, to make . Mortier says his mothers depression came partly from being estranged from her children, so her doctors should have reached out to him. And, hes convinced his mother, severely depressed and on medication, was not in the right state of mind to make such a decision. The option that is being offered to her rather than treatment is death. Reporter attorney Robert Clarke with the Christian GroupAlliance Defending freedom is now using tom mortiers case to challenge belgiums euthanasia law in the European Court of human rights, arguing it violates the basic obligation of the state to protect the right to life. If the court takes the case, and if it rules in mortiers favor a big if, belgium could be forced to rewrite its law. What we see in belgium is a slippery slope. We. We see the number of euthanasia deaths rising year in, year out since the legalization in 2002. And what we see is completely inadequate oversight. The committee that monitors them has received just over 8,000 notifications of euthanasia deaths since the legalization. In its history of those 8,000 cases, the committee has referred not a single one to the public prosecutor. Reporter thats not an indication of a flawless system, clarke says, but instead it suggests that the Euthanasia Commissions reliance on doctors reporting alone is not enough to catch possible abuses. We asked Euthanasia Commission cochair Gilles Genicot about that number. I can understand it might sound surprising, but the way our law works is based on trust we give to doctors. Because they know their patients far better than anyone else. Reporter genicot says he thinks doctors acted appropriately in the case of tom mortiers mother, and that mortiers complaint to the European Court has no legal standing. But there have been other controversial cases that have raised eyebrows, including a transgender patient who was euthanized because of depression following an unsuccessful sex change operation; and twins who were chronically ill, deaf and going blind who were euthanized together. Those cases are really extremely rare, so we can mention them, its okay to discuss them, but we should not bring them to the front to say. To put the law into question because the law is not primarily made for these cases. Reporter in fact, dr. Marc van hoey says only about 5 of his cases were psychiatric patients. But he doesnt shy away from discussing them. As he sees it, euthanasia can be a less traumatic option for a patient and their family than some other form of suicide. Can it be emotional for you . Are some cases harder than others . Its always emotional. And what i always say to my colleagues, nurses, and also to the family i say this, try to bear in mind you follow the law and its the question of the patient. I didnt say you have to die. Can you hear me eva . Reporter which brings us back to eva, the young woman convinced the only way to end her mental suffering was to end her life. Eva agreed to be filmed because she believed that people with chronic, incurable psychiatric illness can be helped to die with dignity. About two minutes after receiving the lethal injection from dr. Van hoey eva died. The last thing for dr. Van hoey to do was fill out the paperwork required for the commission. Sreenivasan whats your take on belgiums euthanasia law that extends the right to die to children . Participate in our online poll at newshour. Pbs. Org. This is pbs newshour weekend saturday. Sreenivasan and now to viewers like you, your comments about some of our recent work. This week, your response to two extended interviews we did exploring the often tense relationship between minority communities and the police. There was this from reed more sorry, but as a white female that grew up in a large city, my parents told me in my teen years to be careful of how i acted around police or anyone with a gun. You mess with anyone holding a gun who regularly has to deal with people who are violent, black or white, you lack common sense. And from Rollin Watson walker hopefully, weve learned that unacceptable behavior is unacceptable no matter what color you are. Rob bieser said i often wonder what officers of color think and feel about the demonstrations against Police Violence towards people of color. It must be a horrible and uncomfortable position for them Marcus Landon added respect and serve is the credo they should actually follow way too many cops are on a power trip. My best friend is a retired n. Y. P. D. Detective, and he agrees with me but admits he cant say it as cops stick together no matter what and from ulfur the police think there are just three kinds of people; cops criminals, and victims. No taxpayers, citizens, voters, fathers, mothers or children. They have an us against the world mentality. Now they are finding out what it is really like to be opposed by most of the citizens they police. Mindfull said we need to find resources to address poverty, which will protect our Police Officers and free them up to fight real crime instead of chasing teens around the streets for minor offenses and tying up our courts with poor people. As always we welcome your comments. Leave them on our Facebook Page online and newshour. Pbs. Org or tweet us Newshour Sreenivasan some more news before we leave you tonight a muslim man who helped save jews during a recent terror attack in paris will be granted french citizenship next week. He guided 15 jews into a downstairs freezer after gunman took hostages at a kosher market. The gunman killed four other jews thereap andrew cuomo is reportedly planning a trade mission toa, all this following the obama administrations decision to ease restrictions in dealings with the island nation. Thats all for tonight. Im hari sreenivasan. See you back here tomorrow. Captioning sponsored by wnet captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org pbs newshour weekend is made possible by Corporate Funding is provided by mutual of america designing customized individual and Group Retirement products. Thats why we are your retirement company. Additional support is provided by and by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Explore new worlds and new ideas through programs like this made available for everyone through contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. [bell tolling]