Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema has sent UN rapporteur Nils Melzer a letter after criticizing the actions of the Dutch police during corona protests. Halsema reports this in a letter to the city council about the banned corona demonstration on the Museumplein on 2 January.
Halsema pointed out to the rapporteur in her letter the ‘controlled and constitutional action of the Amsterdam police during demonstrations’ and ‘the importance of making a judgment in the event of an incident on the basis of thorough and weighted information’. She also “assured Melzer of our obvious willingness to support” should he decide to investigate.
A day after the Amsterdam protest, the UN special rapporteur on torture posted tweets denouncing police brutality in the Netherlands. He also posted a video from March last year showing how the mobile unit on the Malieveld in The Hague beats a man who is lying on the ground. He also shared a video of a police dog grabbing a man near Museumplein on January 2. He called on witnesses to police brutality to provide evidence in the run-up to a visit he plans to pay this year to the Netherlands and other European countries.
Complaint
The Dutch police unions filed an official complaint against Melzer last week. They believe that the rapporteur drew premature conclusions. According to the unions, he is also biased and therefore no longer credible.
The Amsterdam triangle (municipality, police and the Public Prosecution Service) banned the demonstration against the corona measures on January 2, because the activists are said to be out for confrontation and breaking the rules. It was also expected that about 25,000 participants would come to the Museumplein, so that the one and a half meters away could not be maintained. “Since the triangle was unable to reach agreements with the organizer, the fear for public health and disorder increased and I had no other option than to ban the demonstration,” Halsema said in the council letter.
Despite the ban at its busiest time, some 10,000 people were counted at the protest. When protesters refused to leave the square, the police intervened by forming an riot line. Horses and police dogs have also been deployed and a number of officers have had to use force. Thirty people were arrested and four officers were injured.
Stair in cross
A 60-year-old soldier from Gouda was sentenced on Wednesday to two months in prison, one month of which was suspended, because he had kicked a policeman in the groin that day during the demonstration. Arnoldus S. was also sentenced to 40 hours of community service during a speedy trial. That is less than the 60 hours that the public prosecutor had demanded, because S. received a blow with a baton, which means that he now has his hand in plaster. The judge also ordered the man to pay compensation of 350 euros to the policeman, who suffered from the stairs for a week.
S. was part of a group of veterans who attended the demonstration in camouflage clothing. “We stood there in line to protect people so they wouldn’t get beaten. We wanted to act as a shield for the innocent and peaceful people,” S. explained to the Amsterdam police judge. He stated that he had lost his temper and spoke of a “repelling kick”.
around the neck
The 34-year-old Arnoldus P. from Rotterdam was sentenced to eight weeks in prison, of which five weeks were suspended. The judge also sentenced him to 80 hours of community service because he had hung from the neck of a riot police officer and tried to drop him. P. wore a bullet-proof vest during the demonstration, according to him for protection ‘because chaos could ensue. The judge acquitted him of hitting a police officer, because it is not clear whether it was a deliberate blow.
57-year-old Eddy S. from Haarlem was sentenced to 60 hours of community service and 2 months in prison, one of which was suspended for hitting the side of the head of a police officer with a clenched fist. That happened when he tried to break through the riot line on Van Baerlestraat with a group. S. himself kept it on a push because panic arose and he was locked in. He expressed regret.
During the demonstration on the Museumplein against the corona policy, on January 2, dozens of people were arrested:
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