Anti Covid Curfew riots in the Netherlands

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A third night of rioting has shaken the Netherlands as protesters rampaged through towns and cities around the country after government introduced a night-time curfew.

More than 180 people were arrested on Monday in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, where shops were vandalised and looted and the mayor, Ahmed Aboutaleb, issued an emergency decree giving police broader powers of arrest.

Officials said the rioters, who reportedly used social media apps to organise, were overwhelmingly teenagers. Experts questioned the extent to which many were motivated by opposition to the 9pm curfew, which came into force on Saturday.

A leading Dutch criminologist, Henk Ferwerda, said the riots involved “virus deniers, political protesters and kids who just saw the chance to go completely wild – all three groups came together”.

Some were originally peaceful protests that were “hijacked” by people looking for violence, Ferwerda told the Dutch public broadcaster, NOS, while others appeared planned from the start by people “knowingly and intentionally” seeking to cause trouble.

Mayors in several Dutch cities have announced they would introduce emergency measures to try to prevent further rioting.

The prime minister condemned the weekend riots in which anti-lockdown protesters attacked police and set cars on fire. “What motivated these people has nothing to do with protest; this is criminal violence,” Mark Rutte said.

Police said 300 people were detained on Saturday and Sunday after youths threw rocks and in one case knives at officers, attacked a hospital and burned down a Covid testing station.

Bars and restaurants have been shut in the Netherlands since October, with schools and non-essential shops following suit in mid-December. Infection numbers are falling but authorities fear the possible faster spread of the UK variant of the virus.