Some 80 arrested at coronavirus protest in The Hague

Around 80 protesters were arrested on the square near the Tweede Kamer in The Hague on Thursday evening, after they repeatedly ignored police instructions to leave, the Hague police said on Twitter. The protest was  unannounced, according to the police.

The demonstration was against the emergency law that is meant to give the government's coronavirus measures a legal basis. A similar unannounced protest was also broken up in the same spot on Wednesday evening, NU.nl reports. Twelve protesters were arrested then.

The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, debated the coronavirus law on Wednesday and Thursday. Parliamentarians were critical of the law from early on, saying that it gave the government far-reaching powers and sidelined the Tweede Kamer. The new version includes measures to restore the Kamer's democratic control. Several controversial measures were also removed, including a ban on visitors to nursing homes.

The law has not yet been voted on, but a majority in parliament pledged support for it. Opposition parties PVV, SP, and PvdD are still against.