Ten people will appear in court in Groningen today, having squatted in a building on the Akerkstraat in September last year, as reported by RTV Noord.
The suspects occupied the building on Akerkstraat on Sunday September 29, 2019.
They said they wanted to draw attention to room shortages within the city, and hung a banner on the outside of the building with the text ‘We can’t live on waiting lists’.
Property owner Henk Heijkens called the police upon discovering the squatters in the empty building.
The squat didn’t last long: after a few days, Mayor Koen Schuiling (VVD) decided to clear out the squat. The reasons given were that the building was becoming unsafe. Squatting was also prohibited in the Netherlands in 2010.
Image via the Gemeente Groningen.
