No penalty for farmer in Baarn, judge disapproves flag ban

Caspar Huurdeman PhotographyThe flags on the meadow along the A1 near Baarn

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 14:32

A farmer in Baarn is allowed to leave the reversed Dutch flags in his pasture. The province had imposed a penalty of one thousand euros per week on him to remove the flags along the A1. But the flag ban is against the constitution, a judge ruled.

“The right to freedom of expression may not be restricted in this way by the province”, is the verdict of the preliminary relief judge of the District Court of Central Netherlands. The farmer had objected to the penalty. He has eight inverted flags in his pasture between Baarn and Amersfoort.

‘Make my point peacefully’

In April, the farmer was told to remove the flags. The province of Utrecht prohibits the placing of flags, on the grounds of protection of the landscape. The farmer invoked freedom of expression. “I peacefully make my point because of the flags upside down,” he says at RTV Utrecht.

The judge agrees with his reasoning. “There is no proportional relationship between the desire to protect the valuable landscape on the one hand, and the restriction of freedom of expression on the other,” the verdict said.

Since BBB’s election victory in the Provincial Council elections, most inverted flags in meadows have been removed or turned over again. Waving the tricolor in the right way is described as ‘a thank you’ to the voters.

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