Over 1,500 Extinction Rebellion protestors detained in Netherlands for blocking highway

The Police have detained 1,500 climate change activists in The Hague, Netherlands after they caused a blockade on a major highway. They were part of the Extinction Rebellion group, which organised demonstrations on the A12 highway to protest against fossil fuel subsidies. Police used water cannons to break up the gathering, but many had swimsuits and raincoats.

The majority of the protestors that were detained have been set free however the police stated that about 40 of them would face punitive legal action. Several Dutch celebrities attended the demonstration on Saturday, including Carice van Houten, an actress best known for her role as Melisandre in the HBO series Game of Thrones. She was detained but eventually released so she could go home, according to Dutch news agency ANP.

Fossil subsidies must end: Scientist Rebellion Netherlands

Scientist Rebellion Netherlands in a tweet said, "The Dutch government is ignoring the science & subsidizes heat waves, droughts, crop failures, and death. Half an hour into the protest to end fossil fuel subsidies, the government is using water cannons. We remain undeterred. Fossil subsidies must end. Our lives depend on it."

Extinction Rebellion claimed that police deployed water cannon only 15 minutes after the blockade began; however, police claimed that they had requested that the protestors leave and given them time to do so before firing the water cannon, as per reports.

Local news outlet De Telegraaf stated that many individuals were raised and carried onto buses. The Dutch prosecution service however said that most of them won't be punished because it was only a "minor offence" and the main reason for the arrests was to stop the blockade. Police reported that forty people who had been detained for various crimes such as vandalism and injury-causing resisting arrest would still face prosecution.

What is Extinction Rebellion? 

Extinction Rebellion is a "global movement that uses non-violent civil disobedience in an attempt to halt mass extinction and minimise the risk of social collapse. On 31st October 2018, British activists assembled on Parliament Square in London to announce a Declaration of Rebellion against the UK Government".

It also claims to be a "decentralised, international and politically non-partisan movement using non-violent direct action and civil disobedience to persuade governments to act justly on the Climate and Ecological Emergency".