A man who helped his 99-year-old mother to die in 2008 should not be jailed and did not commit a criminal offence, a Dutch court ruled on Wednesday.

Albert Heringa, 74, was found guilty of helping his mother to die in 2013 but judges declined to pass sentence, at which point the public prosecution department launched an appeal.

It is a crime to help someone commit suicide in the Netherlands unless the strict guidelines for euthanasia are adhered to.

The appeal court in Arnhem said Heringa had carried out sufficient checks that Moek was suffering both psychologically and physically and that she really wanted to die. ‘We base this on the recordings he made of their conversations,’ the court said.

Heringa and his mother could also presume that there was no other option because she had tried to find other help to end her life, the court said. In addition, Heringa acted carefully and in a completely transparent way and had followed protocol, the court said.

These special circumstances show that Heringa acted in an emergency situation because no doctor would help her, the court said.

The statement resulted in applause from people watching the case on the public balcony, news agency ANP reports.