‘They went after us, using force right away’

The Utrecht fraction of political party BIJ1 has collected dozens of testimonies from protesters to assess how violent the police were when clearing Utrecht University’s premises on May 7, May 8, and May 15. They were asked to describe what they experienced and witnessed both inside and outside the university’s buildings during the three demonstrations. According to an overview prepared by the party ahead of an emergency municipal council meeting on May 30, 53 people were batoned, 25 were dragged across the ground by their necks, heads and hair, and at least two were knocked unconscious by having their arteries squeezed.

In the document, numerous protesters report scenes of verbal and physical violence, unnecessarily intimidating behaviour, and denial of medical assistance. Their testimonies sharply contradict the statement written by the police, which claims that everything went peacefully and smoothly.

Many have criticised UU's decision to call the police to clear its buildings of pro-Palestine protesters, denouncing the violent escalations that took place at each of the three occupations. Three members of the University Council have called for a “thorough evaluation” of police actions and more transparency from the Executive Board about the deployment of riot police.

DUB also spoke with several students and staff who participated in the protests. They confirm the accounts in BIJ1's report. Several interviewees say they have experienced and witnessed both physical and verbal violence.

May 6:  'Police used force right away, even when not necessary'

Riot police May 7. Photo: DUB

“When the riot police broke in around 11:00 pm, we were sitting in a circle holding on to each other. It was evident that many of us were inexperienced, not knowing what to do or where to position ourselves,” explains a Bachelor’s student who participated in the occupation of the city centre library’s courtyard.

“Nevertheless, the police used force right away even when not necessary, grabbing several people by their wrists and applying pressure to them. Several demonstrators were batoned in the stomach or the back, even when still on the ground,” she recounts. This also emerged in the testimonies collected by BIJ1. 

A staff member recollects that, when the arrests started, an officer immediately put his hands around her neck to get her to stand up, even though she was not resisting in any way. “There was no reason whatsoever for this violence, we were peacefully sitting on the ground, chanting,” she says.

“I saw a person being dragged by their feet to the bus with their weight used as a reason for such practice,” she adds. According to BIJ1’s overview, this person was pulled around which left scratches and abrasions on their back for several days. They were dragged with a baton clamped under their foot.

Violence by riot police May 7. Photo: DUB

“The riot police started grabbing some people by their noses and twisting their wrists to get them to stand up quickly, using a very intimidating tone. When they came to me, I was having a panic attack because I got scared of how violent they were to the others around me, so I offered no resistance,” reports another student. “As the officers were taking me to the bus, I kept asking them to stop for a second because I needed to throw up, but they didn’t care and just put me on the bus, where I lay on the floor.”  

Another Bachelor’s student reports witnessing officers pulling at a person’s shirt until their upper body was exposed while taking them to the bus. “Then we were driven around, without getting any information about where we were going. The buses were very crowded and hot. Plenty of people were in severe distress but received no help. In the back, some people had been pepper sprayed but received no medical attention,” he concludes.

May 8: “An officer punched a protester in the head and then imitated their grunts of pain, laughing”

The protesters who talked to DUB reported similar scenes of violence during the clearance of UU’s building at Drift 25. “A police officer pulled a protester by their clothes, which caused them to fall on the stairs, hitting their head on the steps, which made it impossible for them to get up. This was perceived by the police officer as resistance, so the officer punched the protester in the head and then imitated their grunts of pain, laughing,” a student tells us. This scene is also described in BIJ1’s report. 

Violence by riot police May 7. Photo:James Huang

“When the riot police were taking the protesters out of the building and putting them into buses, I saw two demonstrators being set aside and kept in cages for about 20 minutes,” another protester says. “Then, on the bus, there were two girls in need of medical attention. One was having a seizure and the other one was unconscious. A protester kept telling the police that they needed to call an ambulance and they refused to do that, so the protester continued asking. All her requests were ignored and she was pushed back to her seat several times by the police officers. Only later, when the bus finally stopped near the police station, medical help was finally called and the two girls were taken to a hospital.” 

“It was extremely disappointing to see the university allow this to happen again, by calling the riot police for the second time, even after all the complaints about the unjustified use of force during the first occupation,” says a student. “This time, there was a violent escalation at the demonstration taking place outside the building as well. The protesters on the street were batoned, pepper sprayed, and chased by the police.”

Violence by riot police May 7. Photo:James Huang

May 15: 'I had never felt so unsafe'

On May 15, students occupied the university building at Janskerkhof 15 and, once again, UU called the riot police. “As soon as they broke into the building, the police turned off the lights and closed the curtains. I overheard some officers saying that they would wait until it got dark to start arresting us, so less people would be there to see it,” reports a student.  

“Right after the last warning, a girl in the frontline was severely hit in the head with a baton by an officer she had been chanting towards. Her eye was injured and she suddenly started looking extremely confused. The police tried to hit her again, but they missed, and then they tried to hit her once more. After that, some guys managed to move her away and she received medical attention. Her eye was not responding to light for a while and she does not remember much of what happened,” recollects a Bachelor’s student who witnessed the whole scene closely. 

“I was at the support demonstration outside the building. We were at least 20 metres away from the buses that would transport those who were inside, and we asked the paramedics to give medical attention to the ones in need, but the police repeatedly pushed us back,” the same Bachelor’s student continues. 

The protesters DUB talked to claim that, this time, intimidation and violence also continued after the protests were over. “I was going home and I had a weird gut feeling. After a while, I noticed that a man was following me. This went on for about a block, but then I managed to lose them. The next day, other protesters told me he was an undercover officer,” says a student.

“I was walking back with a friend and we saw a group of men dressed in black aggressively beating people up. When we realised it was the riot police, we both started running. At the intersection, we saw other people running, and they were being chased and pushed by the officers. I had never felt so unsafe,” recalls another student.

Riot police May 15. Photo: DUB

Next steps
After the emergency meeting held by the municipal council on May 30, when BIJ1 presented its report, several motions were filed calling on the municipality to tackle police violence. An evaluation of the situation is currently being conducted and the mayor is expected to give an answer in a few months. BIJ1 hopes this will have consequences for the police, in terms of what kinds of violence they are allowed to use in such situations in the future, preventing similar escalations from happening again. For privacy reasons the report can't be found online.