Fight at the VU, university newspaper had previously reported suspect to the police

Two members of the Vrijmoedige Studentenpartij have been arrested on suspicion of violence and assault. Amsterdam university newspaper Ad Valvas had previously filed a police report against the party over intimidation.

During a drinks reception of the university student council at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in November, the chair, who is also the founder, of the Vrijmoedige Studentenpartij (VSP) started singing a Nazi song together with another VSP member.

Later that evening, in a bar on campus, a board member of the student trade union SRVU confronted them about this. The discussion escalated. One of the VSP members poured a beer over the head of the SRVU member. When the latter did the same in return, the VSP member grabbed him and pushed his head against the ground several times, write Ad Valvas and Het Parool.

The other VSP member is said to have threatened the victim, an international student of non-Western background, that he would be ‘deported’. The police were called, but the VSP members fled the scene. Two arrests have since been made. According to Het Parool, one of those arrested is the chair of the VSP.

Controversial

The Vrijmoedige Studentenpartij is a controversial group. The party was founded in 2023 and also holds seats in the university councils of Utrecht and Leiden. The VSP says it is committed to ‘academic freedom’ and ‘diversity of thought’. But according to Peter Breedveld, editor-in-chief of Amsterdam university newspaper Ad Valvas, it is in fact ‘a typically right-wing reactionary movement that rails against “woke”’.

Ad Valvas has written about the VSP on several occasions: “The chair does not have much time for lhbti people”, Breedveld says. “He kept going on about the pride library or the pride flag. That kept coming back again and again.”

Intimidated

The reporting by Ad Valvas did not sit well with the VSP. The party wanted the editorial team to remove an article about them from the website, but Breedveld refused. “They were given ample opportunity at the time to respond, but they did not want to.”

“We were then intimidated”, he says. “Not with violence, but for example they called me from an anonymous number to provoke me. They recorded a tiny fragment of that conversation, making it seem as if I was insulting them, and posted it on Instagram. A gif of my likeness was also made.”

Police report

Breedveld decided to report the matter to the police for slander and libel: “I see it as a form of intimidation, that they tried to smear my name. But after a few weeks I was told there was not enough evidence, even though I had submitted the video.”

The VSP has also written personal messages about Breedveld: “For example, they say I am far left and that I should not be working for Ad Valvas. That it is a disgrace that I work for the VU. If you ask the VSP even slightly critical questions, they try to discredit you. This has been going on for three years.”

Upset

The investigation is still ongoing, the police say. At a later stage, the case will be transferred to the Public Prosecution Service, which will decide whether to proceed with prosecution.

The VU regrets the situation: “We are deeply upset that this could have happened on our campus and we are taking the situation very seriously”, the university writes. The VSP did not respond to questions.