In the case of Laurijsen and Others v. the Netherlands the Court held that there had been a violation of the freedom of assembly and association.

The case concerned a protest against the eviction of a squat at Passeerdersgracht in Amsterdam. The applicants were arrested for blockading the road in front of and near the squat and summonsed for disturbing public order and failing to comply with a police order to disperse, acts that were prohibited by the municipal by-law (Algemene Plaatselijke Verordening).

The Court found that the applicants’ participation in the protest fell under the scope of protection of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and that the Supreme Court had not examined whether the applicants’ role in the gathering had been peaceful within the meaning of that provision and had therefore failed to convincingly establish why it had been necessary to interfere with the applicants’ right to freedom of assembly.

• Press release