More than 1,500 climate activists arrested in Netherlands during Extinction Rebellion protest

Activists blocked a section of a motorway in the centre of The Hague during the afternoon in protest against Dutch fossil fuel subsidies

Police said they had used water cannon to disperse activists and arrested ‘a total of 1,579 people … 40 of whom will be prosecuted’ on charges including vandalism

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Police remove an activist from the Extinction Rebellion protest group on the A12 in The Hague, The Netherlands on Saturday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 3:55am, 28 May 2023

More than 1,500 people were arrested during a protest by the Extinction Rebellion climate group in The Hague on Saturday, Dutch police said.

Activists blocked a section of a motorway in the centre of city during the afternoon in protest against Dutch fossil fuel subsidies.

Extinction Rebellion activists block a motorway as riot police uses water cannon to disperse them in The Hague, Netherlands on Saturday. Photo: ANP / AFP / Netherlands OUT

Police said they had used water cannon to disperse activists blocking a major road in the city, and arrested “a total of 1,579 people … 40 of whom will be prosecuted” on charges including vandalism.

One of the activists bit a policeman during his arrest, police said.

Several Dutch celebrities were among the protesters, including Carice van Houten, best known for her role as Melisandre in the hit television series Game of Thrones.

The Dutch news agency ANP reported that she was arrested but later allowed to return home.