A 20-year-old man from Voorburg has been sentenced to six weeks in prison, half of it suspended, for throwing branches and stones at police vans during Saturday’s riots in The Hague. He must also pay €1,000 into a victims’ compensation fund.

His case, the judge said, was the most serious of the 14 in Tuesday’s fast-track hearings following the weekend trouble.

The man, identified as Maurits R, said in court that he had been swept up in the violence. “I came with good intentions to demonstrate peacefully,” he said. “In an emotional outburst I did terrible things which I deeply regret. It is the dumbest thing I have ever done.”

Other defendants received lighter punishments. A 49-year-old man from Amsterdam who struck police vans with a flagpole was given a 60-hour community service order and a two-week suspended jail term.

A 60-year-old man from The Hague was ordered to perform 80 hours of community service after undercover officers said they saw him throw stones. Several others were ordered to pay €1,000 into the same compensation fund.

Two men were acquitted, including a 43-year-old from The Hague who police had wrongly identified as the suspect because he had no tattoos on his hands.

Three teenagers also appeared in closed hearings. One was sentenced to 50 hours’ community service, another to 10 days’ suspended youth detention and a 20-hour training order. The case against a third boy will be heard later.

The violence broke out during an anti-immigration protest on Saturday when around 1,200 rioters separated from the main demonstration.

Police vans were pelted with stones, two cars were set on fire, and windows at the D66 headquarters and the Binnenhof were smashed. Officers used water cannon and tear gas to disperse the crowd.

The Hague mayor Jan van Zanen described the unrest as “unprecedented” and “unworthy of the Netherlands”, while the police union called the attacks on officers “bestial.” In total 37 people were arrested and 14 of them faced fast-track trials on Tuesday. Several others remain in custody pending further investigation.