Dozens of people will be appearing before special ‘super-quick’ Dutch courts starting today. They were picked up by police for causing trouble on New Year’s Eve.
Police put the number of arrests nationwide at 642, of which 243 stand accused of assault and 115 of assault against officials, such as police, fire and ambulance personnel. Seven police officers were injured on New Year’s Eve, four of them seriously.
The Hague
Four of the police officers were injured in clashes in The Hague where 30 cars were set on fire and riot police had to be called when windows were smashed in one area of the city.
However, Mayor Jozias van Aartsen thinks new tougher sentences and the speedier trials have improved the situation around New Year’s Eve. “For years, it was a battleground in The Hague,” he told the audience of his council’s New Year’s reception. “Times have luckily changed.”
(c) Radio Netherlands Worldwide
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