Yesterday, Ran Z. appeared in front of the camera of the local television channel AT5. The student, originally from China, felt she had done nothing wrong during the demonstrations in May 2024. She believed that a fair judge would acquit her.
She acknowledged that she had thrown a stick but considered it not serious violence: the police should be well protected. In her view, the officers were the only ones who had done anything wrong. “They are armed because they want to use violence, and that is what they do”, she said.
According to various media outlets, the student was not present at the court proceedings. The Public Prosecution Service demanded four months in prison, of which two were conditional. The judge imposed two months in prison, one of which was conditional.
Community service and acquittal
Another demonstrator, the Spanish student Joaquin L., has been sentenced to sixty hours of community service for throwing a plastic water bottle. This is also milder than the demand (two months in prison) from the Public Prosecution Service. A third demonstrator, the Dutch Peike S., was acquitted due to lack of evidence. He was suspected of throwing stones and balloons filled with an unknown liquid.
The riots at the University of Amsterdam erupted due to the war in Gaza. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators held (and continue to hold) the university partly responsible for genocide in Gaza as long as ties with Israeli institutions remain unbroken.
Critical report
Last week, the university published a critical report from the Berenschot agency regarding the administration during the riots. The conclusion is that the escalation of the protest was unavoidable, but the administration is still somewhat to blame.
After smaller protests, it became clear that no dialogue was possible with the administration, which did not want to take a stance on the war and insisted on cooperation with Israeli institutions. There could have been more dialogue and understanding, ‘and a listening ear for the concerns of some students and staff’, according to the report. “Demonstrators felt that their concerns were not being adequately addressed.”
The administration acknowledges that it could have done better, but also emphasises that ‘initially peaceful protests’ were hijacked. Implicitly, the report states that the riots and destruction are not the fault of the administration but of the troublemakers.
