Clampdowns on protesters in the Netherlands invited widespread condemnation from several quarters following the Dutch police’s handling of a protest in Amsterdam against Covid-19 restrictions on Sunday.
A video clip, which has been doing rounds on social media, and was also tweeted by Nils Melzer, United Nations’ special rapporteur on torture, showed police officials charging at anti-lockdown protesters with batons and police dogs in an attempt to disperse them from the protest site.
Melzer also tweeted another video where a protester was seen being pinned down by the Amsterdam Police officials. Melzer in his tweet said that he felt this was one of most ‘disgusting’ examples of police overreach since the death of Black American George Floyd, whose death sparked widespread protests condemning police brutality towards Black Americans in 2020.
The authenticity of both the videos showing alleged police overreach could not be verified by news18.com.
Situation in Amsterdam spiralled out of control after hundreds took to the streets to protest coronavirus restrictions on Sunday, news agency AFP reported. The Dutch police earlier banned protesters from gathering in one of the main town squares in Amsterdam. The protesters, however, took to the streets flouting the directions. Within hours, the protest site turned into a battlefield with protesters clashing with Amsterdam police.
At least 30 people were arrested and two protesters were injured in the clashes, news agency AFP reported citing Dutch local media. The police charged the protesters with assault, public disorder, possession of a forbidden weapon and not respecting security forces. The police said it used force since the protesters did not heed to the warnings which asked them to leave the protest site. They also said that four police officers sustained injuries.
Protests against Covid lockdowns in the Netherlands in November also led to clashes between police officials and protesters. At that time more than 50 protesters were arrested and two protesters sustained bullet injuries after police opened fire at protesters. The police accused the protesters of rioting in Rotterdam and the mayor termed the clashes as an ‘orgy of violence’.
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