Extinction Rebellion and the prosecution are at odds over a police action during a protest in Spring 2024. The environmental group claims that the police violated a protester’s privacy by entering a room without permission, while the prosecution maintains the action was legally justified.
The incident occurred during an Extinction Rebellion protest at Eindhoven Airport on March 23, 2024, where activists were calling for reduced air traffic. During the investigation into the protest, police reportedly breached the privacy of one of the participants. According to a letter from the prosecution, which the protester received on December 31, police entered a space without authorization, potentially to observe it or plant a microphone.
Violation
“I was suddenly called and had to go to interrogation under threat of arrest,” says the protester. “The KMAR then revealed that they had spied on me for months, including completely checking my bank account. And now this letter showing that my privacy has been seriously violated. Absurd that the Dutch government thinks it is allowed to bug peaceful protesters, such a thing has no place in a democratic constitutional state.”
The protester’s lawyer, Willem Jebbink, informs that the methods used are normally used against criminal and terrorist organizations. “International law is very critical of the use of these kinds of methods against peaceful protesters. It can discourage citizens from expressing their opinions.” Jebbink emphasizes that after years of Extinction Rebellion’s actions, the prosecution knows that the movement is nonviolent and states that the prosecution “has a lot of explaining to do.
OM response
In a written response, the East Brabant Public Prosecutor’s Office stressed that no home was surreptitiously entered in the investigation in question, nor would any listening devices have been placed in private rooms. “However, a van, which was parked next to a fence at Eindhoven Airport, was surreptitiously entered. So by ‘space’ is meant the van.”
The prosecution stresses that the case will be dealt with later in a court hearing. The final file will be shared with the defense once it has been fully reviewed.
Source: Studio040
For Eindhoven News: Chaitali Sengupta.