Pro-Palestine protestors in Utrecht released, one person still in custody

The roughly one hundred people that were arrested on Friday during a pro-Palestine demonstration at the Jaarbeursplein in Utrecht have been released again. Only one person remained in custody for throwing stones at a police officer.

All demonstrators who were arrested received a fine from the public prosecution service.

The protestors were arrested for violating an emergency order against public demonstrations.

The municipality intervened in the demonstration after the Jaarbeursplein became too crowded and participants did not adhere to coronavirus measures. Many demonstrators remained at the square despite multiple calls from officials to disperse at which point the riot squad arrived to remove the demonstrators from the square.

To avoid further protests, emergency orders were also issued in the surrounding neighborhoods, Lombok, Nieuw Engeland and Dichterswijk.

More than 100 arrests were made in Lombok after a group of protestors gathered near the mosque on the Kanaalstraat.

The demonstration was held in response to the escalation in the violent Israeli-Gaza conflict in the Gaza Strip this week. In Gaza, at least 139 people have been killed there since the beginning of this week, including 39 children and 22 women. Eight people have been killed in Israel, including one six-year-old boy.