Dutch police have begun a murder probe into the death of a former minister who is credited with making the Netherlands the first country to legalise euthanasia.
Els Borst, 81, was found dead in her garage on Monday evening, two days after attending a convention of her political party, the right-of-centre Democrats 66.
“Based on forensic tests and findings at the scene, the conclusion can be drawn that the most likely cause of death was a crime,” police said in a statement.
Borst was health minister and deputy premier in two governments headed by a Labour prime minister, Wim Kok.
Borst, a trained doctor who twice served as deputy prime minister, was the architect of the bill in 2002 that gave people suffering from terminal illness the right to end their lives in consultation with a physician.
It comes as Belgium passed a law that will allow terminally-ill children to end their lives.