Police arrested a third man connected to a shooting in Utrecht, where local residents said the perpetrator was dressed up like Zwarte Piet. The arrest in the 2018 case was announced on Tuesday. He is a 48-year-old man with no fixed address.
Two people were arrested in the case last June. Neither was believed to be the shooter, police said in July when they released images of the man they said was at large.
Damage to private property caused this past New Year's Eve in the Netherlands is expected to reach roughly 15 million euros, but the estimated value is expected rise higher when the extend of damage to commercial property is included. The cost estimate from the Dutch Association of Insurers, which does not include medical expenses due to fireworks-related injuries, is similar to figures released a year ago.
As much as authorities wanted to prevent tractors and construction vehicles from tying up the highways during protests by farmers and builders in October, law enforcement in the Netherlands was outmatched and unable to prevent it, concedes Linda Bregman, of the Public Prosecutor's Office (OM). It was not "because we didn't want it. Not because we didn't understand the law.
A report by the National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV) has revised the country's threat level assessment down to level 3 from level 4. The threat of a terrorist attack in the Netherlands is assessed on a five-point scale, with threat level 5 being the most severe and imminent.
Police in the Netherlands arrested a 35-year-old man in connection with the stabbings of three teenagers on the Grote Marktstraat in Den Haag. The man, with no fixed address, was being taken to a police station where investigators planned to interrogate him, Den Haag police said in a statement.
No suspected motive was released immediately after the arrest. Earlier on Saturday, authorities went so far as to say, "The precise nature of the incident is currently unclear."
The three victims in a stabbing Friday evening in the Hague were all minor children, the police said in a statement. The motive behind the knifings near a Hudson's Bay department store at about 7:45 p.m. was still unknown hours later.
All three victims were released from an area hospital, police confirmed.
Three people were hurt in a stabbing on the Grote Marktstraat at the Hudson's Bay in Den Haag, police said. The incident happened on Friday night while shoppers in the area filled the street searching for Black Friday sales.
No suspects were in custody two hours after the violence took place. Police were searching for a male between 45 and 50 years of age, with slightly tanned skin, though it was not immediately clear if he was a suspect in the case. He was wearing a black jacket and a scarf over a gray track suit.
The court case examining criminal responsibility in the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 will begin on March 9 at the heavily secured court complex at Schiphol airport. The case, officially assigned to the District Court in The Hague, will also provide a live stream of the court hearings, and a press center to accommodate up to 500 journalists and 300 workplaces.
The court has reserved 25 weeks for the trial. In 2020, those dates are March 9-13, March 23-27, June 8-July 3, and August 31-November 13. The court will also hear the case in 2021 from February 1 through March 26.
Two men were arrested in the Netherlands on Monday, accused of preparing to carry out a terrorist attack using at least one car bomb and bomb vests, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) revealed on Tuesday. The suspects were allegedly plotting to carry out an attack in the Netherlands by the end of the year.
Posters featuring anti-discrimination activist Jerry Afriyie as Zwarte Piet were plastered all over Den Haag late Friday night and early Saturday morning. The posters use a digitally-manipulated portrait of Afriyie, turning him into the racist caricature he has led a charge against for years.
Hundreds of posters were affixed along the parade route for the arrival of Sinterklaas in Den Haag. They were glued to storefronts and boats in the harbor, according to broadcaster Omroep West.
A court in Den Haag ordered the Netherlands to quickly bring 56 children of Dutch parents back to the country from Syrian detention and displacement camps. The case was filed on behalf of 23 mothers living in the camps.
In its verdict, the court noted that "the children have not chosen to go to Syria or to stay in Syria. They are sitting there now because their parents have chosen to travel to the Caliphate and join IS."
Dutch police arrested 70 people last week in a cooperative effort to tackle those suspected of mobile banditry, a catch-all term for people who travel around to engage in criminal acts like theft, burglary, fraud, identity fraud, and drug trafficking. The suspects in these cases often work across international borders, requiring assistance from policing agencies like Europol, Interpol, and other national police forces.
Activists seek personal protection: Protest organization Kick Out Zwarte Piet has scrapped its public schedule after a violent attack on its activists in Den Haag, wrote Nu.nl, and a threat of rioting at the group's planned roundtable discussion in Hengelo. The Hengelo event set for Monday was cancelled by city politicians at the last minute, according to Tubantia.
Five people were arrested in Den Haag on Friday night, accused of attempted arson and a violent assault against anti-Zwarte Piet activists meeting there, police said. Dozens of people were gathered in the former school building to discuss their activism against the use of blackface and racist caricatures in the Netherlands, when dozens more tried to storm the facility.
The suspect accused of threatening far right leader Geert Wilders, and preparing a terrorist plot, should be sent to prison for six years, the Public Prosecution (OM) said during closing statements against Junaid I. in court on Tuesday. Wilders was present in the courtroom earlier in the day, but declined the opportunity afforded him to make a statement as one of the victims in the case, saying he only wanted to look into the eyes of the suspect.
A 42-year-old man suspected of detonating hand grenades at two coffeeshops in Delft was convicted on Friday and sentenced to ten years in prison. The man prosecutors alleged was his accomplice was acquitted on charges related to the grenades, but convicted and sentenced to under two years in prison for separate weapons offenses, according to RTL News.
Mayors of municipalities in the Den Haag region released a joint statement in which they "strongly" reject the idea that there is a culture of discrimination within the police unit Den Haag that the leadership in the unit is ignoring. With this statement the mayors of Delft, Leiden, Zoetermeer, Rijswijk and Leidschendam-Voorburg, among others, respond to complaints from civil society organizations, a whistleblower and political parties about racism and discrimination within the police, NOS reports.
A group of 20 civil society organizations, led by anti-discrimination action group Controle Alt Delete, filed an official complaint against the police unit Den Haag. According to the organizations, the police in The Hague have been ignoring signals and reports of discrimination within the police for years and that must change. The complaint was filed with National Police chief Erik Akerboom, and a copy was sent to Minister Ferdinand Grappenhaus of Justice and security.
Around two thousand farmers spent the night in The Hague after a major protest on Wednesday, according to estimates from Farmers Defense Force (FDF), the organizer behind the protest. They slept in caravans, tents or their tractors and ended the overnight protest with a breakfast. Around 300 Hague residents, farmers and journalists attended the breakfast, NOS reports.
Farmers protesting in the Utrecht region who then drove their tractors on the A12 motorway rejected orders from the police to exit the A12 and park their vehicles at the Cars Jeans Stadium in Den Haag. Instead, many stormed into town, attempting to either create a disturbance in the city center, force their way near parliament, or to other gathering sites in the city.
Richard de Mos and Rachid Guernaoui officially handed in their resignation as aldermen in The Hague. The two politicians from Groep de Mos/Hart voor den Haag are suspected of accepting bribes for issuing permits. Despite his resignation, De Mos will not change anything about his party financing and he called on entrepreneurs to keep donating to Groep de Mos, AD reports.
Public works department Rijkswaterstaat closed the A12 highway from Utrecht to Den Haag at Nootdorp at the request of the police. The highway is overcrowded with farmers on tractors heading towards The Hague for a demonstration. Rijkswaterstaat advises motorists to avoid the highways around The Hague region.
The Commissioner of the King in Zuid Holland, Jaap Smit, will announce who will be acting mayor of The Hague within a few days. The city is looking for an interim mayor, because Pauline Krikke announced her resignation as mayor with immediate effect on Sunday.
A week of scandal in Den Haag has led the city's mayor to tender her resignation on Sunday. Pauline Krikke, of conservative party VVD, was appointed to the job and first took office on March 17, 2017, and previously spent 12 years as the mayor of Arnhem and seven years on Amsterdam's city council
