The current mayor Jeroen Dijsselbloem wrote a letter in response to questions from GroenLinks and PvdD: “the ruling of the police judge has not been recorded in writing and there is no record of the hearing. No representative of the municipality, police or the public prosecutor’s office was present at the hearing.” The mayor then says that he has therefore based his conversation with the police on what the PvdD and GroenLinks have stated: “The intervention by the police has started far too early and in a way that is not in proportion to what has happened. The authorities acted in violation of Article 11.” It is not clear from the letter why there was no representative of the parties mentioned at the hearing. The hearing on October 7 was open to the public and Cursor attended it.

Consequences

The mayor continues his letter: “assuming this (the statement of the PvdD and GroenLinks, ed.), the police and the municipality jointly conclude that the demonstration was ended too quickly, when there was no base in the Wom supporting this (the law from which Article 11 has been violated, ed.), namely to protect health, or in the interest of traffic or to combat or prevent disorder. Based on the judge’s statement, I will in future, together with the police, take a closer look at the instructions that can be given to demonstrators by the police or municipality.”