Dutch Prime Minister Slams Anti-Coronavirus Curfew Rioters

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th January, 2021) Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Monday slammed the recent violent protests seen across the Netherlands against a new evening curfew aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus disease.

During a media briefing that was streamed by Dutch broadcaster NOS, Rutte said that the protests had nothing to do with the "struggle for freedom" and accused the demonstrators of carrying out acts of "criminal violence."

"This is unacceptable," the prime minister said during the media appearance, noting that law enforcement officers acted "adequately."

Violent protests broke out across the Netherlands on Sunday against new restrictions that order residents to remain in their homes from 21:00 to 04:30 [20:00 to 03:30 GMT], the country's first curfew since World War II.

Dutch police said as many as 190 arrests were made during a demonstration in the country's capital, Amsterdam, and violence also broke out at a protest in Eindhoven. Law enforcement officers also issued fines to 3,600 people for violating the curfew after it came into force on Saturday night, police said.

The Dutch government introduced a nationwide lockdown on December 15, which has recently been extended to February 9, to curb a surge in new COVID-19 cases.

On Sunday, 4,924 new positive tests for the coronavirus disease were registered in the Netherlands, taking the country's case total past 948,000.