Utrecht University building evacuated by riot police

[pieter]

NOS News•
yesterday, 10:43 PM
•Adapted today, 00:29

Utrecht University building evacuated by riot police after pro-Palestinian demonstration

The riot police have ended the occupation of one of the university buildings of Utrecht University after a pro-Palestinian demonstration. The evacuation of the building at the Janskerkhof took about two hours, reports RTV Utrecht. An ANP reporter on the scene says that the police used batons to drive away demonstrators.

The police say on X that the deployment of a negotiator had no results. After the police demanded that the demonstrators leave the building voluntarily, riot police proceeded to evacuate the building. It is not known exactly how many demonstrators were present in the building. About forty activists were taken away in a detention bus.

Many barricades are said to have been erected in the building of the faculty of humanities. For example, a side door was blocked with, among other things, stacked chairs and trash cans.


Pro Palestinian demonstrators whom occupied one of the Utrecht University buildings in the Center of the Netherlands

At the request of the Executive Board, the police sent a negotiator into the building earlier in the evening to talk to students. They refused to leave the building or negotiate. RTV Utrecht reported that the demonstrators' spokesperson shouted through a megaphone not to negotiate. "They know our demands."

The building has been occupied since approximately 5 p.m. Last week, demonstrators occupied the grounds of the UU University Library and on Monday several hundred students took part in a 'walk-out'. The demonstrators want the university to cut ties with Israeli institutions that benefit from the oppression of the Palestinian people.