Extract from article published by the BBC on 27/05/2023 – accessible here.
More than 1,500 climate protesters have been arrested by police in the Netherlands after blocking a major motorway in The Hague.
During the protest, organised by Extinction Rebellion, activists walked onto the A12 highway demanding an end to fossil fuel subsidies.
Police fired water cannon to try to disperse the crowds – but many came prepared in raincoats and swimsuits.
Extinction Rebellion accused police of using water cannon just 15 minutes after the start of the blockade – but police said they had asked the activists to leave and gave them a chance to do so before using the water cannon.
The 1,579 people who refused to leave were then arrested. Most arrested protesters were released, but police said 40 would be prosecuted.
Forty people will still be prosecuted, police said, after being arrested for other criminal offences such as vandalism and resisting arrest resulting in injury.