Netherlands government ordered to scrap controversial Covid curfew

Curfew violates ‘freedom of movement and privacy’ court rules

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A Dutch court has ordered the government to axe a controversial Covid-19 curfew banning people from going outside late at night.

Earlier this year, ministers introduced measures that prevented people from leaving their homes between 9pm and 4am, in a move aimed at reducing transmission of the disease.

The restrictions were last week extended until 3 March.

But an anti-lockdown group challenged the government in court, arguing it had failed to make clear why it was absolutely necessary to use emergency powers at this stage of the pandemic, as infection rates dropped.

A court in The Hague ruled in favour of the anti-lockdown group on Tuesday, branding the curfew as a "violation of the right to freedom of movement and privacy".

The court said the "curfew must be lifted immediately", however an appeals court later said the curfew would remain in place pending a government appeal.

In the decision, judges said the interests of the state in containing the pandemic “carried greater weight” and that the restrictive measures would remain in place until a government appeal can be heard.

Police would abide by the ruling, the police trade union told ANP, adding it raised questions over the validity of the almost 15,000 curfew fines handed in the past two weeks.

The curfew, the first in the Netherlands since the Second World War sparked several days of riots by anti-lockdown protesters when it was introduced on 23 Jan.

The case was brought by anti-coronavirus measures action group Viruswaarheid, which earlier suffered a string of court losses.

"We'll have a party tonight", Viruswaarheid frontman Willem Engel said on public radio.

"I'm happy and relieved that justice in the Netherlands still exists.”

The curfew is part of a lockdown in which bars, restaurants and non-essential stores have been closed for months.