Extinction Rebellion protest: 768 arrests made and 725 activists released

Two more people have been arrested after the climate action on the Utrechtsebaan (A12) in The Hague, the police said on Sunday. A total of 768 people were arrested on Saturday, according to the police. The climate action group Extinction Rebellion (XR) said on Sunday that about 725 activists had been released.

The protesters who are still in custody do not want to reveal their identities, according to police. The two activists were detained for taking preparatory actions.

Hundreds of climate activists walked onto the A12 in The Hague around 12 p.m. on Saturday to form a blockade. They protested the government's handling of subsidies for fossil energy producers. The demonstrators carried banners and signs with inscriptions such as “We stand for the right to protest”, “Do something better with all that money”, and “Arrest the real climate crooks”. Activists who did not comply with police requests to leave were arrested.

According to XR, the next demonstration on the A12 is already being planned. The date of this action will be announced by the climate action group later.

However, not everyone who participated in Saturday's climate action on the Utrechtsebaan (A12) near The Hague was given the space appropriate for demonstrations, Amnesty International said on Sunday. These are the preliminary findings of the organization, which was present at the action on Saturday to observe its progress.

As an example, the organization cited several journalists who were seized by police and taken to the police station. "We see that a number of things can be improved. For example, for a long time it remained unclear on what grounds people were seized and detained. That caused a lot of anxiety. Communication about this could be better," Amnesty said.