Edwin Wagensveld, Dutch Right-wing Activists Trample and Torn Copies of Qur’an

The Hague, MINA – Edwin Wagensveld, a Dutch right-wing activist, trampled and tore copies of the Qur’ran at a demonstration outside the Turkish embassy in The Hague on Friday.

The action angered dozens of protesters, Al Arabiya reported.

The Dutch government condemned the holding of demonstrations ahead of the event, but said it had no legal force to prevent them.

Edwin Wagensveld, head of the Dutch branch of the right-wing group Pegida, damaged a copy of the Qur’ran, accompanied by two others.

The police had closed off access to the street where the Turkish embassy was located, and there were about fifty protesters also present.

Some of the protesters pelted Wagensveld with stones as he ripped pages from the Qur’an.

Around 20 policemen equipped with shields and batons intervened when some of the crowd tried to chase Wagensveld as he was about to leave.

Dilan Yesilgoz, the Turkish-born Dutch Justice Minister, described the action as “quite primitive and deplorable.”

But state law permits such demonstrations, he added. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)