A cell or community service? Suspects of the farmers’ protests will hear their verdict today

It is one of the last statements in the aftermath of the farmers’ protests, which started out of dissatisfaction with the nitrogen plans of Minister Van der Wal (VVD). Shortly after the publication of the ‘nitrogen map’, farmers across the country took to the streets, often with their tractors. They feared for the survival of their companies. The wave of protests weakened after the BBB became the largest in the Provincial Council elections in March 2023.

During the wave of protests, farmers went further in their actions. What started with hanging upside-down flags culminated in a visit to the minister’s house and blockades of supermarkets and highways.

Fire

Farmers also took to the highways to demonstrate on July 28 and August 1. On the A7 in Friesland and Groningen, demonstrators blocked the highway with their tractors, also dumping waste and setting it on fire. No one was injured, but several accidents occurred as a result of the dumping. The police arrested several activists in the following weeks.

After extensive police investigation, eight suspects were tried last month for the waste dumping. Five of them heard the most severe sentences demanded against them, ranging from (partly suspended) prison sentences to community service of up to 240 hours, the longest possible term. Severe penalties, which according to the public prosecutor are necessary because of the danger caused by the actions. “It is a small miracle that there have been no serious casualties,” he said during the hearing in early April.

The suspects are not just farmers. Two suspects from the transport sector are also on trial for blocking the highway and complicating the waste dumping. They face a community service order of 100 hours. The men deny having been present.

Warning shot

With the sentence demanded in Tuesday’s case, the public prosecutor wants to send a ‘strong signal’, he said last month. It cannot be ruled out that new farmers’ protests will take place in the future. For example, last February there were further demonstrations in various places in the Netherlands, and farmers across Europe have also been making themselves heard more and more lately – including in Belgium, France and Germany. They do not agree with what they consider to be too strict regulations from Brussels.

Tuesday’s ruling is not the first as a result of the wave of farmers’ protests. Twelve farmers were sentenced to community service and suspended prison sentences in September 2022 for participating in the protest at Minister Van der Wal’s home. Among them was leader Albert Markerink of Farmers Defense Force, who kicked in the window of a police car.

On the other hand, the police officer who shot the tractor of 16-year-old farmer Jouke in 2022 was given eighty hours of community service and a suspended prison sentence. The officer’s warning shot narrowly missed the boy’s head. According to the judge, the officer shot ‘wrongly with a service weapon’.