At the highway blockade of Extinction Rebellion (XR) on the A12 near The Hague, the first climate activists were deported on Saturday afternoon. Live stream images show groups of police officers removing the demonstrators, who have sat down on the highway, one by one. Some activists walk along themselves, others are lifted by their arms and feet and taken to one of the buses that are waiting behind the police line.
Around 2 p.m., the police removed a large part of the demonstrators from the road. They are driven away in a bus. The remaining demonstrators remain seated and stand on the road surface. The A12 is still blocked for that reason.
In some cases, where activists are stuck together, the police used a baton. The action group announced on Saturday afternoon that demonstrator Lucas Winnips is also present in The Hague despite his area ban. He was arrested and taken away by four officers, as can be seen on an XR published photo.
Around noon, the police called on the activists on the highway to move to the Malieveld. Anyone who failed to do so would be arrested, the officers present warned.
Extinction Rebellion will block the A12 near The Hague on Saturday to protest against subsidies and tax benefits for the fossil industry. Hundreds of climate activists are participating in the action on the Utrechtsebaan, the part of the A12 between the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate and the temporary House of Representatives. People are also demonstrating next to the highway, near the Prins Clauslaan. Extinction Rebellion itself expected about 1,200 activists.
Read also: For Extinction Rebellion, civil disobedience is the only alternative
Area ban
The preparations for the blocking action on the A12, which the action group announced in December, did not go unnoticed. On Thursday morning, six members of Extinction Rebellion were arrested on suspicion of sedition. According to the Public Prosecution Service, their call to participate in the “dangerous and disruptive” highway blockade is punishable. After questioning, they were released on Thursday evening, but they are not allowed to be present on the A12 for the next ninety days and can therefore not participate in the blockade.
Climate activist Winnips was arrested a week earlier for calling on Twitter to participate in the highway blockade. Just like the arrested six, the judiciary suspects him of sedition and he was banned from the area for ninety days. His case came before the court on Friday, but he could not judge whether the Public Prosecution Service correctly prohibited Winnips from attending the demonstration. That is why the area ban is maintained and Winnips is also not allowed to participate in the protest. Despite this, he was present on Saturday, but has since been arrested by the police.
There is a lot of criticism on social media about the way climate activists are being dealt with. Willem Jebbink, lawyer for the detainees, calls the arrests “disproportionate”. Nearly forty social organizations, such as Greenpeace, the Aidsfonds and the Fietsersbond, have therefore announced their support for the blockade. Their directors will be present at the demonstration.
Also read this interview with two Extinction Rebellion activists: “You have to choose whether you agree with Jelle or not”