Three people received warnings for Schiphol climate protest they didn't attend

At least three people received warnings for a climate protest they didn’t attend at Schiphol Airport in November last year, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said on Tuesday. The OM asked the Koninklijke Marechaussee to investigate what happened.

The protest at Schiphol Airport happened on November 5 last year. Activists blocked the runway used by private jets to take off. The Koninklijke Marechaussee, a policing force that works as part of the Dutch military and is responsible for airport security, arrested over 100 protesters.

In July, the OM announced that five activists who chained themselves to airplanes during the action would be prosecuted. And 176 activists would receive an official warning. At least three people have since come forward to say that they’ve received warnings but weren’t at the protest at all.

According to the OM, it sent the warning letters based on information provided by the Koninklijke Marechaussee. It has asked the Marechaussee to “investigate this extensively.”

“If people were indeed not present, then that is regrettable, and apologies will follow,” the OM said. “Naturally, all registered data will then also be destroyed.”