The right to demonstrate is under pressure in the Netherlands, activists warned the Tweede Kamer. The local government regularly changes the rules during the game and often uses too much violence, said climate activist Jelle de Graaf of Extinction Rebellion, anti-racism activist Jerry Afriyie of Kick Out Zwarte Piet, and Bart Kemp of farmers’ movement Argactie in a discussion with parliamentarians about the right to demonstrate.
Amsterdam police chief Frank Paauw called on The Hague for an additional 200 specialized police officers to combat the rising tide of explosions, shootings, and other drug-related crimes plaguing the city.
A 32-year-old man who was arrested on the 's-Gravenweg in Rotterdam on Friday night has died. The police rushed to the scene after a report of a confused person and brought the man under control with a stun gun. "Shortly after, the arrested man became unwell," the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said. Around 11:15 p.m., officers received a report that a man in a confused state had jumped onto a vehicle. After a brief chase, the stun gun was used.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit The Hague on Thursday. He will meet with Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren and others, sources said. The president will also give a speech entitled “No Peace without Justice for Ukraine.” Foreign Affairs Minister Wopke Hoekstra will also be present at the speech.
The police used violence 33,584 times in 20,667 incidents last year, according to a report published on Wednesday. The number of incidents increased by 18 percent compared to 2021. The use of violence was 12 percent higher.