Dutch authorities wrong to ban 3 climate activists from Hague highway ahead of protest

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) was in the wrong when it issued an area ban preventing three climate activists from being at the Utrechtsebaan portion of the A12, the court of The Hague ruled on Tuesday. However, the OM acted properly in giving the area ban to five other Extinction Rebellion protestors detained by authorities.

On other occasions, those five people previously called for access to the highway to be shut down as part of a blockade in protest.

The three who the court sided with had not yet caused a disturbance to public order when the OM imposed the area ban for that section of the A12 in The Hague. The blockade had yet to take place at that time. “The area ban can, therefore, not be maintained in their case,” said the court, which handled the case behind closed doors.

“It is different with the other five activists, because they have also called for earlier blockades, which had already taken place before the area ban was imposed.”

Extinction Rebellion has now blocked the Utrechtsebaan five times. The next demonstration by the climate activist group on that stretch of highway is scheduled for March 11. The Utrechtsebaan has been chosen in the past because it runs between the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate and the temporary building for the Tweede Kamer.