Dutch anti-Covid activist remains in custody

A well-known activist who protested against Covid measures in the Netherlands will remain in custody for two more weeks on incitement charges, Dutch prosecutors said on Friday.

Police took Willem Engel into custody on Wednesday in Rotterdam after more than 22,000 people signed a complaint against him.

The dreadlocked Engel, 45, has been one of the leading faces of the Dutch anti-vaccine movement and has been involved in several court battles with the Hague-based government since the pandemic began two years ago.

Engel had shared posts on social media which “led to other people committing criminal offences or inciting others to do so,” the public prosecution service said in a statement.

“He will remain in custody for the next two weeks.”

Video posted by the NOS national broadcaster show two police officers handcuffing a surprised-looking Engel in a Rotterdam suburb on Wednesday.

His arrest comes after police and prosecutors opened a probe in January following a complaint against him signed by 22,500 people.

The prosecutors accused Engel, a Rotterdam dance teacher, of “spreading medical disinformation, fraud, and statements with a terrorist intent and threats”, Dutch media reports said.

Engel has denied committing any crime.

“I simply wanted to have a strong debate, but I would never cross a line,” NOS quoted him as saying.

Engel’s arrest is unusual in the free-wheeling Netherlands where even extreme views are usually tolerated.

The public prosecution service however said there were limits to freedom of expression, which included “never” encouraging others to commit crime.

Incitement as a crime carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail or a 22,500 euro ($24,800) fine.