Dutch police union frustrated by lack of prosecution following climate protests

The Dutch Police Union criticised the Public Prosecution Service for not prosecuting the overwhelming majority of climate protesters arrested during the mass protest organised by the environmental group Extinction Rebellion in The Hague on Saturday.

Roughly 6,000 protesters blocked a highway in The Hague to protest against government subsidies granted to fossil fuel companies. Consequently, approximately 1,500 protesters were arrested by Dutch police, with the overwhelming majority being released immediately afterwards – despite the protest officially being prohibited by the municipality.

“We have been in contact with many police officers, and there is a lot of frustration,” Jan Struys, chairman of the Dutch Police Union, told RTL Nieuws.

“If you […] start making mass arrests as police because numerous offences are committed, and then automatic dismissals follow for almost all cases, it is not exactly great for motivation,” he added.

On its part, the Dutch branch of Extinction Rebellion criticised the police for using water cannons to disperse protesters.

“[…] [P]olice deployed water cannons as early as 15 minutes after the start of the A12 blockade, even though there was no dangerous or threatening situation,” the group stated in a press release published on Saturday.

“From [2 pm] onwards, police began making arrests, in some cases heavy-handedly,” they added.

On its website, the Public Prosecution Service explained its decision not to prosecute the overwhelming majority of the arrested individuals due to the protest being peaceful, there being no signs of reprehensible actions (such as vandalism or assault) and the degree of disturbance caused by the demonstration being limited.

For Struys, these arguments do not hold enough weight.

“Of course, it is nice that people behave peacefully, but it is still a demonstration, you are blocking a national road, forcing citizens, ambulances and other road users to detour to reach The Hague,” he argued.

(Benedikt Stöckl | EURACTIV.com)