Cabinet and mayors agree to prosecute motorway protesters

Anyone who blocks a motorway or railway line will in principle face criminal prosecution, the country’s regional mayors, prosecutors and police chief have agreed with justice minister David van Weel.

The joint statement, issued on Tuesday, says the rules apply to everyone “from farmers to climate activists”, though local authorities can still make exceptions case by case.

“Demonstrating is a fundamental right and we protect it,” it reads. “But expressing your opinion is something other than making the motorway or the railway unsafe.”

The move follows a fatal crash during recent farmers’ protests. Two people died and six were injured when a car ran into the back of a tractor-related tailback on the A59 earlier this month.

Nijmegen mayor Hubert Bruls, who chairs the regional mayors and had asked for national rules, said nothing had changed legally – tractors were already banned from motorways – but the confusion had now been removed.

Climate group Extinction Rebellion said it had no intention of stopping. “As long as the government and big business fail to do what is needed, we will continue with peaceful civil disobedience,” the group said, adding that it is already facing prosecution, with a court case due on August 26.

XR, which has blocked the A12 in The Hague dozens of times, said the measure was a distraction. Its activists have been treated far more harshly than farmers over the summer: around 270 were arrested on the A12 last month, while some 80 farmers escaped fines on the A35 because their number plates were taped over.