Dutch activists sue government over assisted suicide

Campaigners are calling for the decriminalisation of assisted suicide in the Netherlands (Peter Dejong/AP)

Campaigners calling for the decriminalisation of assisted suicide in the Netherlands took the Dutch government to court on Monday, arguing that its ban on helping a person end their life breaches human rights norms.

The case at The Hague District Court is the latest legal battle in a long-running debate around end-of-life issues in the country that in 2002 became the first in the world to pass a law that decriminalised euthanasia.