Some of the 23 activists who occupied the Goudsmitpaviljoen yesterday have been released. Persons whose identity has not yet been established will remain detained longer. All are suspected of unlawful entry; the Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation.

Police and the fire brigade rushed to the university campus with many men and much equipment on Tuesday. They did so to put an end to the occupation by Pro-Palestine protesters of the Goudsmitpaviljoen, behind the Huygens building.

This great effort was necessary, according to Mayor Hubert Bruls, because the magnet lab is an unusual building. ‘We were dealing with security risks that the police and fire brigade are not very familiar with. How many magnet labs are there in the Netherlands? The officers and firefighters depended entirely on the experts familiar with the building for their information. These are not situations you can handle with two neighbourhood police officers.’

Moreover, it was not known how many protesters were involved and how many of them were holed up inside.

During the occupation, experts from the lab expressed concerns about the safety of the protesters. The students who were inside were potentially in mortal danger due to the risk of lack of oxygen.

Press conference

A spokesperson for the protesters stated on Wednesday afternoon that Nijmegen Student Encampment had done some ‘very thorough’ prep work before the group proceeded to occupy the laboratory. ‘We had the situation under control, you can really trust that. We didn’t just jump into a building overnight. We contacted several scientists beforehand who knew very well how this equipment worked and what the risks were.’

The spokesperson would not say how the protesters managed to enter the building. Normally, this requires an employee pass. According to lab director Arno Kentgens, people posing as students presumably slipped in behind a researcher.

According to the protesters, the choice of the building was logical because one of the researchers working there was involved in a collaboration with three Israeli institutes. ‘We occupied the building because we don’t want any more research to be done until all ties between the University and Israel are severed.’

According to Dean of the Faculty of Science Sijbrand de Jong, this information is incorrect, as he said at the hastily organised and well-attended press conference this afternoon in the Huygens building. The researcher targeted by the occupiers works at HFML-Felix, a building across the road. Lab director Arno Kentgens: ‘The employee in question is not part of our lab and has never worked in our lab.’

‘Badly beaten’

Mayor Bruls says he is ‘really done’ with student occupations. ‘This is costing society huge amounts of money.’ He believes Nijmegen Student Encampment has crossed a line by putting themselves and others at risk. ‘This is not quite the same as occupying a sports hall or the Erasmus building. This is really very serious.’

The protesters in turn blame the police for allegedly using force when the occupiers were leaving the pavilion last night. According to them, the students who were still inside around midnight walked to the outside door of their own accord, but were immediately assaulted by policemen who were waiting there. ‘The students got badly beaten,’ said the Encampment spokesperson.

‘Alleged police brutality? I call that a consequence of your own behaviour’

Officers did not enter the building earlier in the evening because they feared for their own safety and that of the activists. ‘We made every effort to get the occupiers to end the occupation on their own initiative’, a police spokesperson said. ‘But with all the options on the table, the conclusion was that this was not possible without potentially endangering the lives of our staff, other aid workers, and the occupiers themselves.’

Bruls, in response to the alleged violence: ‘Yes, those occupiers always say that, that violence was used. That could well be the case if you enter somewhere illegally, engage in life-threatening activities, and are then removed from the premises. I call that a consequence of your own behaviour.’

Unlawful entry

The 23 occupiers arrested are suspected of unlawful entry; the Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation. Several individuals have since been released; some activists whose identity is still unclear remain in detention. A group of protesters gathered in front of the Nijmegen police station on Wednesday afternoon to show support for the group still in custody.

Nevertheless, actions will continue until the University cuts all ties with Israel, the students’ spokesperson said Wednesday afternoon. Regarding those ties with Israeli institutions: Rector José Sanders did not wish to elaborate on the matter at the press conference in the Huygens building.

The Mayor hopes that students and staff of Radboud University who are fed up with the Encampment’s actions will ‘now make themselves heard’. ‘Even if you agree 100% with the protesters’ objective – ties with Israel being severed – you can still let it be known that you 100% disapprove of actions like this.’