Freedom of peaceful assembly
Extinction Rebellion (XR) activists block main road in the Netherlands
On 28th January, hundreds of Extinction Rebellion activists blocked the A12 road near the temporary Parliament House in The Hague. According to police authorities, some activists left voluntarily when instructed, while many others were detained. The action was aimed at denouncing the unsustainability of the carbon-intensive economic model pursued by the Netherlands. As reported by the CIVICUS Monitor, the Dutch police have been accused of excessive force in their response to previous XR protests.
Earlier, on 21st January, police authorities arrested 47-year-old Lucas Winnips for incitement as he had repeatedly called for the blockade of the A12 highway that occurred the following week. This arrest led to a court decision prohibiting him from attending Extinction Rebellion demonstrations. On 26th January, the Dutch police arrested six XR climate activists (three men and three women) at their homes on suspicion of sedition for planning to block the A12 highway. According to the Public Prosecution Service, blocking the highway is a criminal offence and poses risks to public safety. The activists were eventually released.
**UPDATE** Actievoerder @LWinnips maakte gisteren gebruik van zijn demonstratierecht, ondanks het opgelegde gebiedsverbod van 90 dagen. Hij werd gearresteerd, maar na een verhoor ‘s avonds laat weer vrijgelaten. #A12 #StopFossieleSubsidies #demonstratierecht pic.twitter.com/h0KIYjvRmc
— Extinction Rebellion Nederland (@NLRebellion) January 29, 2023
The police arrests and exclusion orders have caused unrest among activists and raised concerns about violations of their right to peaceful protest. XR described the arrests of its activists as the “criminalisation of nonviolent climate activists,” and Winnips's lawyer found it “extremely worrying to criminalise people who engage in and call for peaceful demonstration.” Furthermore, nearly 50 civil society organisations expressed solidarity with Extinction Rebellion activists, and Greenpeace issued a statement on behalf of itself and other organisations, highlighting the importance of supporting the action and denouncing that the right to protest in the form of civil disobedience is under pressure. The activists have vowed to continue their protests, demanding an end to government tax breaks for fossil fuel companies.
We are very concerned that the right to protest is being increasingly restricted in the Netherlands. We stand firmly behind peaceful activists who exercise their right to protest.
- Andy Palmen, Greenpeace Netherlands
Freedom of expression
Protesters accuse media of concealing link between COVID-19 vaccines and excess mortality
On 4th February, a small group of citizens gathered in front of the building housing NOS, the largest news agency in the Netherlands, demanding answers from the outlet about the “unexplained excess mortality” reported since 2021. The group questioned the agency’s role during the pandemic, displaying banners with messages such as “Stop the Censorship” and “Media=Virus.” They symbolically marked each death with post-it notes on the building’s windows and implied a possible link between COVID-19 vaccines and an increase in the mortality rate in the country. Furthermore, they accused the media outlet of disseminating falsehoods and concealing the truth from the public and called for an “honest investigation” to uncover the “fake news” allegedly spread by NOS.