Police wrongly arrested journalist at pro-Palestinian protest

Police breached the human rights of a video journalist who was wrongly arrested while reporting on a pro-Palestinian demonstration, a court has ruled.

Jacqueline de Bruijn was detained in a cell for nine hours after being accused of taking part in the unauthorised demonstration in Amsterdam, two days after violence broke out around a European football match between Ajax and Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Police told other media outlets that De Bruijn was indistinguishable from other demonstrators because she failed to show her press card until she got to the police station.

But the district court in The Hague said the police version of events was untrue and ordered the force to publish an apology.

Audio recordings and video footage posted on social media showed De Bruijn showed her press card to the officer who arrested her before she was led away but was told: “Too late.”

In its judgment, the court said: “The court comes to the conclusion that there was no legal basis for the arrest and detention of the complainant.” It added that the arrest violated article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects press freedom.

De Bruijn told NRC she was pleased with the court’s decision, but added: “I think it’s very serious that you have to prove that what the police says is untrue. It’s the world turned upside-down.”