A 25-year-old UG student was sentenced to three months in prison on Tuesday, with one month suspended, after discharging a fire extinguisher at two police officers during a pro-Palestine demonstration on June 12.
According to Dagblad van het Noorden, which attended the hearing, the third-year philosophy student was among the protesters occupying the UG building at Oude Boteringestraat 23. When police entered, he directed the extinguisher at the officers.
The Groningen judge classified this as assault. The officers reported being in the spray for around twenty seconds, experiencing a stinging and biting sensation in their eyes.
Impulsive action
The student apologised in court, explaining that his action was impulsive. He claimed his intention was to spray their shields, not their faces, and that he was exercising his right to protest with peaceful intentions.
However, the prosecutor, who sought three months without suspension, noted that the student had a previous conviction for defamation, after accusing an officer of choking and hitting him and sharing the officer’s name, birth date, and photo on social media last year.
The student was also ordered to pay 350 euros in damages to each officer and to compensate the UG for the fire extinguisher.
Possible suspension
The UG says it does not yet know whether the conviction will affect the student’s academic programme. ‘It’s a recent ruling, and the student can still appeal’, says Sophie Dannenburg, spokesperson for the university. ‘We’ll wait for that before considering whether there are any consequences for the student.’
According to Dannenburg, any potential disciplinary action will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, but it could, for example, involve a suspension lasting one or more months. ‘I don’t know if it’s an option in this case to fully remove him from the programme.’
This report was updated after publication. The UG initially informed UKrant that there would be no academic consequences for the student but later retracted this statement.