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A mother-of-six remains in an induced coma in Belgium nearly a month after her violent husband, a Kosovar Muslim, set her on fire in front of their children after he had been freed from prison months early due to overcrowding.
The family of Dula K., a 41-year-old woman now fighting for her life in a burn center, has told Belgian media that she has been a victim of “failed policies” after her husband, Mirsad H., was granted Extended Pentitentiary Leave (VPV), in April 2025 as part of an emergency measure implemented by former Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt to address saturation in the Belgian prison system.
Mirsad H., who boasts a considerable rap sheet including illegal possession of a weapon and receiving stolen goods, had been serving a lengthy 37-month prison sentence for domestic violence against Dula.
On July 3, weeks after his release, he is accused of savagely attacking his wife at the family home in Houthalen-Helchteren. Police had been called after one of the children reported that Mirsad had become violent again. Officers separated the couple to assess the situation. When they realized Mirsad had violated the terms of his probation, they summoned a second patrol to arrest him. But Mirsad escaped before reinforcements arrived. He returned just hours later, stormed into the house, and doused Dula in gasoline and set her alight in front of five of their children. She suffered severe burns over her entire body and is now in a medically induced coma, completely wrapped up in protective bandages. Her survival chances are described by doctors as extremely slim.
“He set her on fire in front of the children,” Dula’s brother Serdzo told HBVL, speaking for the first time about the attack. “We are terrified, even though he is back in prison.” The family, originally from Kosovo, has lived in Limburg for decades. They now see Dula not only as a victim of a horrific crime but as a symbol of a justice system that failed her repeatedly.
The attack was caught on video. According to the family’s lawyer, Bert Vanmechelen, one of the children tried to extinguish the flames in the bathroom. “One of them had to put out his own mother,” Vanmechelen said. “That kind of trauma never leaves a child.” Dula, her body severely burned from head to toe, was rushed to the Leuven burn center, where she remains in critical condition.
Mirsad was captured later that evening during a large-scale police operation after being found hiding in an abandoned building. He had injured himself falling from a roof. He is now facing charges of attempted murder and is expected to be tried before the Assize Court.
Despite his record and propensity for violence against his wife, Mirsad was granted conditional release by the Hasselt prison administration. Current Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden has since called the measure illegal and vowed to end it.
While local police chief Geert Verheyen insisted that officers “handled the intervention very well and professionally,” Vanmechelen rejected that claim. “Don’t tell me everything went right when a mother ends up in a coma, burned alive in front of her children, by a man who should have still been behind bars,” he said. “This is the failure of an entire system.”
Serdzo is now caring for his sister’s children, but revealed the emotional toll the attack has put on the whole family. “We talk as little as possible about what happened,” he said. “But how can you ever erase the image of your father setting your mother on fire?”
