Two Ameland men prosecuted for attack on journalists during secretive island holiday

Prosecutors will pursue charges against two Ameland men accused of attacking three people who were attempting to produce a media report about a holiday event on the island. The victims include two men who were working for broadcaster PowNed, and their driver, who arrived on Ameland on December 5 to report on the secretive Sunneklaas holiday tradition there.

The suspects were identified as Ameland residents, including a 23-year-old man and another man who is 32 years of age. They are accused of using aggressive tactics to obstruct the victims. "Both suspects are also charged with public violence against and threatening the three men," the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said on Thursday.

Local authorities have been criticized for their handling of the incident over seven months ago. Sunneklaas is a holiday with closely-guarded traditions that is unique to Ameland, and residents do not welcome outsiders. Days before the incident, the mayor, district police, and the regional office of the OM already had prepared text for an emergency order, as well as a provisional press statement assuming a violent altercation had taken place.

PowNed reporters arrived on the island by ferry, and found themselves surrounded by local residents who allegedly chased them at high-speed across the island. The victims' car was rammed, even as they frantically tried to get help from local authorities who were either slow to respond, or did not respond. The two suspects were detained and questioned in the days that followed.

The OM said on Thursday that the situation was already "threatening" when the PowNed crew exited the ferry. "The two suspects played an active role in this, the Public Prosecution Service believes," the OM wrote in its update. The OM argued that the suspects were also involved in the "dangerous pursuit" where the crew's car was "forced to stop resulting in a dangerous traffic situation and a collision. The camera crew was also attacked again."

Additionally, the OM declined to pursue a case against the PowNed driver saying there was insufficient evidence of a crime. Several individuals attempted to press charges against the driver for his conduct behind the wheel that night.

In its latest statement, the OM did not go into the reasons why police did not take a more active role in preventing the violence. Officers already observed a minimum of five residents waiting for the PowNed crew at the ferry before the ship arrived. Days later, one of the officers wrote an internal memo claiming that the Ameland residents "promised" the police "that no violence would be used."

Mayor Leo Pieter Stoel had prepared a statement before the incident for City Council that was not used, but which acknowledged that he speculated PowNed would try to report on the Sunneklaas event because a PowNed reporter had already been on the island a few days earlier. After the PowNed employee visited a Council meeting and spoke to residents, Stoel told him, “Amelanders do not appreciate if you interfere in their party.”

Internal discussions between Stoel, the police and the OM led to the opinion that the journalists were intentionally putting themselves in harm's way by trying to report on the festival. The police decided to monitor the situation from a distance. Friesland District Police Chief Janneke Bakker told the Leeuwarder Courant in April, “In retrospect, we should have stayed by the boat.”

Eventually, Noord-Nederland Police Chief Martin Sitalsing gave a more formal statement of regret on World Press Freedom Day. "As police, we therefore have the task of ensuring that journalists can do their work as safely as possible, given the circumstances. On December 5, we did not show that vigor sufficiently, and we need to learn from that."