At least two climate activists from Olst arrested for call blockade A12: ‘We just keep going’ | Olst-Wijhe

The blockade of the highway should start at noon on Saturday. According to XR, “more than a thousand concerned citizens are ready to make their voices heard without violence. They demand an immediate end to the ‘annual 17.5 billion euros fossil subsidies’. The Public Prosecution Service has previously stated that it finds the call on social media dangerous and disruptive and considers it sedition. Hence the arrests.

The six activists, three women and three men (including Jelle de Graaf, who previously glued himself to the table at Beau van Erven Dorens) were released at the end of the afternoon, but they are no longer allowed on the A12 in the coming months .

The activists from Olst could not be reached for a response, but Tessel Hofstede previously stated in the Stentor that she has been involved in this group for climate activists for years. “I like standing on the barricades. I prefer to give a speech, speaking from my toes,” she said at the time. “The climate crisis is incredibly worrying to me. In the Netherlands we may not notice it yet, but the consequences are already visible in large parts of the world. Only if people are willing to take off their blinders and face this, maybe we can do something.”

,,At Extinction Rebellion you are together with many other people with the same concerns. It feels good to be with like-minded people. People who fight out of desperation, but also have hope, otherwise they wouldn’t be so combative. Also important: we believe that the actions should have a certain beauty. Appealing clothing, music,” says Hofstede.

The arrests are a complete surprise, according to XR spokesperson Hannah Prins. “We are not doing anything illegal. It’s too crazy to be arrested without having done anything. It is a shock, especially for the families where the police suddenly showed up at the door. Young children opened the door and to see their parents being taken away is not normal.”

“We will continue on Saturday. It is a peaceful action.” She has no doubt that the currently arrested activists will participate when they are free again. Human rights organisations, lawyers and MPs have now spoken out against the action of the Public Prosecution Service, which they consider disproportionate. Amnesty International speaks of a ‘horse remedy’. GroenLinks has asked parliamentary questions.

Others support the actions, such as VVD MP Ingrid Michon. She speaks on Twitter of ‘crocodile tears’ from the activists. “Blocking a road is not allowed and neither is calling for it.”