The police arrested around four hundred demonstrators who blocked the A12 motorway near Utrecht on Saturday afternoon. The police report this a press release. Climate activists have held up traffic on the A12 near De Meern, west of Utrecht, for more than three hours in protest against fossil fuel subsidies. At 3:30 p.m., the police reopened the highway to traffic, after which the traffic jams cleared up.
The action started around 11:30 am, when climate activists from Extinction Rebellion (XR), Debt for Climate (D4C) and Utrecht for Palestine (U4P) entered the highway at various locations along the A12. In an attempt to prevent this, the police “used force in some cases,” the police reported.
Half an hour later, “several vehicles” of demonstrators stopped on the highway to block traffic, police said. A group of demonstrators then took to the road at the Oudenrijn junction. A little later, demonstrators also blocked the A2 road from Utrecht to the A12.
Traffic in the direction of Utrecht was completely blocked. In the other direction, towards The Hague, motorists could use one lane. The municipality of Utrecht previously expressed the expectation that the action would lead to “serious traffic disruption” in and around the cathedral city.
Too little visible
Earlier this week, Mayor of Utrecht Sharon Dijksma banned a protest near the A12 and recommended the Waterlinieweg-Laagravenseweg roundabout as an alternative location. Activists were reluctant to do so and felt that the protest at that location would not be visible enough.
Politics The Hague has promised many times since 2009 to end fossil subsidies, says an XR spokesperson on the phone. But even under Prime Minister Rob Jetten, who in the past called himself a ‘climate pusher’, approximately 40 billion euros still goes to companies such as Shell, Tata and KLM, she says. “In the meantime, people cannot pay their energy bills,” says the spokesperson. That is why XR is now opting for actions that cause “more nuisance”.
Some climate activists had chained themselves to the guardrail with pipes, chains and glue, NOS reports. After the police ordered the demonstrators to leave the highway, officers cleared the highway and arrested the demonstrators.
Police also arrested six drivers of the cars that held up traffic by blocking the road. These are men between the ages of 40 and 79, from Utrecht, IJsselstein, Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, Tilburg and Almelo. Their vehicles have been seized. The suspects were taken to the police station and registered for an “educational measure” at the Central Driving License Office, the police said.
‘Life-threatening’
The police say they have “no understanding” of the highway blockade. “This is extremely dangerous.” Minister Vincent Karremans (Infrastructure and Water Management, VVD) repeated this message in a Saturday afternoon message on
Since 2023, climate activists have blocked a highway more than 45 times: the A12 in The Hague or the A10 ring road near Amsterdam. The police arrested thousands of people. Protesters who enter a highway while cars are still driving commit a “serious criminal offense,” according to the Public Prosecution Service. But activists who join the protest when the road is closed are ‘only’ violating the Public Manifestations Act. That is why the latter group is often not prosecuted.
Road works
Motorists were already experiencing inconvenience south of Utrecht due to work on the A2 between the Everdingen junction and the Oudenrijn junction. The road has been closed there since 10 p.m. on Friday evening until the early morning of Monday, April 27. Utrecht advised road users to use public transport or bicycle and to leave their car at home as much as possible.
