Climate action on the highway may be punishable, but arrests ‘on the heavy side’

ANP

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 18:24

“Very remarkable” and “on the heavy side”, is how Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law Jon Schilder calls the arrests of six climate activists from Extinction Rebellion. The police arrested the three men and three women at home this morning because they are suspected of calling for “a dangerous and disruptive blockade” of the Utrechtsebaan in The Hague. The blockade of this part of the A12, which partly runs through the city, is scheduled for next Saturday, January 28, from 12:00 p.m.

The arrested activists were released this afternoon after an interrogation. They are not allowed on the A12 for three months.

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) said about the arrests that demonstrating is a fundamental right, but added that it “is not a license to commit criminal offences”. The arrests were necessary because “the safety of others is endangered”, the OM argues. In addition, the action group would not have been available for the municipality of The Hague to make agreements about safety.

Heavy medium

Professor Schilder says that it is indeed possible that Extinction Rebellion activists are calling for a criminal offense. “If the demonstrators really intend to block that road, then that is not allowed: that is in violation of the Road Traffic Act,” he says. “But if they call for a peaceful demonstration and do not necessarily want to block the highway, then that simply falls under the right to demonstrate.”

In the search of the Public Prosecution Service what kind of call it is exactly, he finds picking people up at home in the morning a heavy means. “You can also just ask people to show up at the police station to provide the information the police need to prepare for a possible criminal trial.”

Empty hands

Schilder thinks that the Public Prosecution Service “wants to set an example” with the arrests, because, according to him, there has been a lot to do lately about “incitement on the internet”, calls for a criminal offense. “Mayors often feel empty-handed and complain about lengthy criminal proceedings. I have the impression that the Public Prosecution Service wants to show that they can actually take action. As a result, people may think twice before posting certain things on the internet .”

Nine civil society organisations, including trade union FNV, Greenpeace Netherlands and Oxfam Novib, believe that the arrests go too far. To defend the right of demonstration, they will join the demonstration on Saturday.

Organizing and participating in civil disobedient actions falls under the right to manifest, the organizations write. According to them, it is therefore unfair to call a call for such a protest “sedition”. They also state that climate activists are dealt with more harshly by the police and the judiciary than other groups of demonstrators.

summary judgment

Professor Schilder shares this opinion: he thinks that the activists are treated “quite severely” compared to, for example, farmers during the farmers’ protests. The Public Prosecution Service may be using “a new approach” with the arrests, he thinks. “If that is not the case, then you have the feeling that there is an unequal treatment.” From an equality point of view, he sees that as something “we cannot accept”.

Last week, another activist of Extinction Rebellion, Lucas Winnips, was arrested because he also called to come to the demonstration on Saturday. He was released on January 19 after interrogation, but was also banned from entering or near the Utrechtsebaan for the next three months. He is challenging this area ban in preliminary relief proceedings that will be heard tomorrow.

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