A 42-year-old man from East Gelre in Gelderland is convicted for dumping waste during one of the farmers’ protests. The man had to appear before a police judge in Arnhem on Thursday. He has been convicted of blocking the A18 by dumping waste. He was given eighty hours of community service and a one-week suspended prison sentence. In addition, he must pay a fine of 3,600 euros. The man is the first to be convicted of dumping waste in a farmer’s campaign.
The man was caught in the act by the police on 28 July when he and about thirty others dumped waste on the A18 highway near Westendorp, as a protest against the government’s nitrogen policy. When officers saw the man busy, they arrested him. According to the road manager Rijkswaterstaat, this involved sand and silage, among other things.
The man is not the initiator of the action, but he did participate in it. He has confessed to blocking the highway. During the hearing he indicated that he regretted the action and that he was carried away. The judge emphasizes that freedom of demonstration is an important right, but you must not endanger others in doing so. The man endangered other road users by blocking the A18. Next Thursday is a hearing of another man suspected of the same acts on July 28.
Also read: Accidents due to dumped waste, several roads closed – actions by farmers are ‘life-threatening’, says Rutte